Social Justice
Court slaps N.J. judge with 30-day suspension for ‘misogynistic’ comments
A New Jersey municipal judge has been suspended without pay for 30 days for commiserating with a domestic violence suspect in 2019 about getting “frustrated with the women human beings” and advising the suspect to “let them know you’re the man, and you’re in control.” In an order filed Thursday, the New Jersey Supreme Court […]
As ICE detention centers shutter, immigrant advocates eye Bergen County’s jail
Ten years ago, New Jersey had space in a quartet of detention centers for thousands of immigrant detainees arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcment. Now, years of protests by immigrant advocates has helped diminish the federal agency’s presence in New Jersey’s public jails. On Nov. 1, Hudson County says they will be out of […]
Hudson County seeks to sever ICE contract after years of protests
Hudson County officials are planning to exit their 10-year contract with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement to hold immigrant detainees at the county jail, a change that comes after years of protests by immigrant advocates. The move would make Bergen County the only publicly run jail in New Jersey that houses ICE detainees, following Essex […]
Case of Jersey City cop highlights lack of police transparency
It was a fight that started stupidly enough, as fights at boozy bashes tend to do. The party’s host got mad at a guest packing leftovers into a cooler to take home. The host threw tomatoes at him — and then went and grabbed a shotgun. “Today is your day!” he shouted at a few […]
Extreme heat could cost N.J.’s outdoor workers $2.2B in lost earnings, researchers warn
With many still recovering from Hurricane Ida and the seven twisters it spawned in New Jersey last week, the summer’s sweltering heat might seem like a distant discomfort. But a new report warns extreme heat could cost up to $2.2 billion in lost earnings for New Jersey’s outdoor workers by the end of the century, […]
Report calls for protections, says job gains exclude N.J.’s most vulnerable workers
Even as some parts of the economy have rebounded, New Jersey’s job market continues to lag behind its pre-pandemic levels — and gains haven’t been evenly distributed, leaving those hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis behind, according to a new report released Monday by New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP). New Jersey has recovered 62% of […]
Courts begin to hear long-stalled eviction cases
New Jersey’s eviction moratorium for middle-income renters ended Wednesday, with courts starting to hear some of the 83,800-plus residential eviction cases landlords have filed since the start of the pandemic. But there is no tidal wave of people losing their homes and getting booted onto the street. Yet. Instead, the process started with settlement conferences. […]
N.J. prisons get so-so grade on pandemic response — but still the best in the U.S.
A civil rights group that graded prisons nationwide on how they handled the COVID-19 pandemic gave New Jersey a ‘C’ — and blasted the response of correctional facilities around the country as “a shameful failure.” New Jersey’s mediocre grade was the best in a bad showing by all states, which are “failing on even the […]
Reformers eye N.J.’s top court in push for shorter prison terms for juvenile offenders
When Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver recently signed a new law intended to divert juvenile lawbreakers away from prison, a long line of legislators gave speeches to declare there are no disposable children in New Jersey and kids who make mistakes deserve a second chance. But reformers say that’s not true in New Jersey for juveniles […]
New Jersey’s unemployed fret about federal benefits expiring
Life was turning around for NyKia Jackson. After spending months without a stable roof over her head and crashing on a friend’s couch, Jackson rented an apartment in Pemberton perfect for her and her three kids. She had saved up some money from her jobs at Burger King and as a teacher in a preschool. […]
Groups demand protections for transgender inmates in county jails
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and Garden State Equality on Thursday urged officials running jails in New Jersey’s 21 counties to house inmates by their gender identity, not the gender they were assigned at birth. The civil rights groups, which made their plea in a letter to the state’s jail wardens, noted […]
Thousands of Afghan refugees expected at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst military base
Thousands of refugees fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan will begin arriving this week at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, Biden administration officials said in a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. At least 25,000 refugees will be sheltered at the Burlington County military base and three other facilities — Fort Bliss in Texas, Fort Lee in […]