Fighttp://www.northjersey.com/news/crim ... urt.htmlht for higher bail taken to high court
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Last updated: Wednesday April 29, 2009, 8:49 AM
BY ELIZABETH LLORENTE
Herald News
STAFF WRITER
1 Comment People facing criminal charges along with deportation should face tougher bail terms, a Morris County prosecutor argued before the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Connor Jr. said those people pose a high flight risk, and could be deported — even of their own choice — without ever being tried in court.
"We should be permitted to return to court to seek to have the bail adjusted accordingly," Connor said to the judges.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi turned to the state's highest court after Manuel Fajardo-Santos, an illegal immigrant from Honduras who was charged with sexual assault of a child last year, posted 10 percent of a $75,000 bail, was turned over to the federal government and came close to being deported without facing the charges.
Michael Fletcher of the state's Public Defender's Office, Fajardo-Santos' attorney, maintains that there was nothing new in his client's case that justified raising or changing the terms of the bail. He has argued that from the outset it was known that his client was an immigrant who could be subject to deportation.
Connor, however, argued that after ICE informed Morris County prosecutors that they were preparing to deport the Honduran man, then there were changed circumstances — a requirement for seeking altered bail terms.
But Fletcher responded: "By waiting for him to post his bail [before seeking a higher one], they're preventing him from seeking what he is entitled to, to be released."
Some civil rights activists have criticized Bianchi's quest for tougher bail terms for people who could face deportation on grounds it would create a two-tier bail system based on a person's immigration status. They say allowing such a system would be unconstitutional.
Fajardo-Santos was charged with molesting a 9-year-old girl in Wharton last year. His bail was set at $75,000 but then raised to $300,000 by Superior Court Judge John Dangler after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents lodged a detainer against him. An immigration detainer tags an immigrant for arrest by federal agents and subsequent deportation.
Fajardo-Santos, who sits in Morris County Jail, had posted part of the $75,000 bail and was turned over to ICE, which had begun deportation proceedings. A state appellate judge reversed higher bail set by Dangler, and the Supreme Court put a hold on the matter pending Tuesday's hearing.
People facing criminal charges along with deportation should face tougher bail terms, a Morris County prosecutor argued before the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Connor Jr. said those people pose a high flight risk, and could be deported — even of their own choice — without ever being tried in court.
"We should be permitted to return to court to seek to have the bail adjusted accordingly," Connor said to the judges.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi turned to the state's highest court after Manuel Fajardo-Santos, an illegal immigrant from Honduras who was charged with sexual assault of a child last year, posted 10 percent of a $75,000 bail, was turned over to the federal government and came close to being deported without facing the charges.
Michael Fletcher of the state's Public Defender's Office, Fajardo-Santos' attorney, maintains that there was nothing new in his client's case that justified raising or changing the terms of the bail. He has argued that from the outset it was known that his client was an immigrant who could be subject to deportation.
Connor, however, argued that after ICE informed Morris County prosecutors that they were preparing to deport the Honduran man, then there were changed circumstances — a requirement for seeking altered bail terms.
But Fletcher responded: "By waiting for him to post his bail [before seeking a higher one], they're preventing him from seeking what he is entitled to, to be released."
Some civil rights activists have criticized Bianchi's quest for tougher bail terms for people who could face deportation on grounds it would create a two-tier bail system based on a person's immigration status. They say allowing such a system would be unconstitutional.
Fajardo-Santos was charged with molesting a 9-year-old girl in Wharton last year. His bail was set at $75,000 but then raised to $300,000 by Superior Court Judge John Dangler after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents lodged a detainer against him. An immigration detainer tags an immigrant for arrest by federal agents and subsequent deportation.
Fajardo-Santos, who sits in Morris County Jail, had posted part of the $75,000 bail and was turned over to ICE, which had begun deportation proceedings. A state appellate judge reversed higher bail set by Dangler, and the Supreme Court put a hold on the matter pending Tuesday's hearing.
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