Bill Text: NJ A135 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows juvenile regardless of age to be tried as adult for committing homicide against law enforcement officer.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [A135 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A135-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman AL BARLAS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Allows juvenile regardless of age to be tried as adult for committing homicide against law enforcement officer.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning juvenile waiver and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1 of P.L.2015, c.89 (C.2A:4A-26.1), the court shall waive jurisdiction of a juvenile delinquency case without the juvenile's consent and shall refer the case to the appropriate court and prosecuting authority having jurisdiction if there is probable cause to believe that:
(1) the juvenile committed a delinquent act which if committed by an adult would constitute criminal homicide, other than death by auto, for purposely or knowingly causing the death of another person; and
(2) the victim was a law enforcement officer and was murdered while acting in the performance of the officer's duties while in uniform or exhibiting evidence of authority or because of the officer's status as a law enforcement officer.
b. The court may deny a motion by the prosecutor to waive jurisdiction of a juvenile delinquency case pursuant to subsection a. of this section if it is clearly convinced that seeking the waiver is an abuse of the prosecutor's discretion.
2. This act shall take effect immediately
STATEMENT
This bill revises the juvenile waiver law to allow a juvenile to be tried as an adult for committing criminal homicide against a law enforcement officer. Specifically, the bill allows juveniles to be tried as an adult in cases where there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed a delinquent act which if committed by an adult would constitute criminal homicide, other than death by auto, and the victim was a law enforcement officer who was performing the officer's official duties or because of the officer's status as a law enforcement officer.
