An ongoing legal battle concerning the responsibility for housing juveniles charged with criminal offenses in New Jersey is moving to the appellate court. Atlantic County and the state Juvenile Justice Commission are clashing over who should bear the burden of providing accommodations for young people held in juvenile detention.
An ongoing legal dispute regarding the housing of juveniles charged with criminal offenses in New Jersey is concluding in one court but escalating to a higher level. The conflict has shifted to the appellate court , where the state and Atlantic County will continue their legal battle over responsibility for providing accommodations for young people held in juvenile detention. Last year, Atlantic County and the state Juvenile Justice Commission filed separate lawsuits concerning this issue.
However, they reached a compromise earlier this month to discontinue their cases in trial court and transfer the matter to the appellate division. The state declared it faced a dire situation in securing beds for detained juveniles due to a surge in crime leading to overcrowding and riots at its juvenile detention facility. County officials asserted they were forced to scramble for housing in detention centers across other counties, holding the state Juvenile Justice Commission accountable for failing to address the situation.Atlantic County argued in its court filings that young people were, in some instances, detained at police stations for prolonged periods—violating legal guidelines—while efforts were made to locate available facilities. Officials claimed this situation created potential civil rights liabilities for the county. Conversely, the commission maintained that responsibility for finding available space in juvenile detention centers lies with the counties, not the commission. All seven county-run juvenile detention facilities in New Jersey—located in Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Essex, Middlesex, Morris, and Ocean—are owned and operated by the respective counties. Counties without their own centers contract with existing facilities to house their juvenile detainees. Following Atlantic County's lawsuit, the commission issued an order in November requiring the county to not exceed the 20-bed capacity at its juvenile detention center. The county was also directed to formulate a plan for securing beds in one of the other six detention centers when its facility reached full capacity. Furthermore, the commission requested Atlantic County's plan to address the underlying issues contributing to recurring overcrowding at its facility. In response to Atlantic County's lawsuit, Superior Court Judge Michael J. Blee, assignment judge for Atlantic and Cape May counties, issued a preliminary injunction in December, ruling that the responsibility for housing detained juveniles rested with the commission, not the county. In his December 23rd ruling, Blee also determined that claims made by Atlantic County alleging the commission violated the state Civil Rights Act and breached terms of a contract between the county and the commission should be considered by the appellate court.Meanwhile, the commission filed its own lawsuit in Mercer County Superior Court in December, alleging that Atlantic County failed to submit a plan outlining its strategy for managing overcrowding issues. Under an agreement reached last week between the commission and Atlantic County officials, the parties signed consent orders that will soon terminate the cases in Atlantic and Mercer counties. The Atlantic County ruling has been elevated from a preliminary to a final injunction, paving the way for the commission to challenge Blee's decision in appellate court, according to an individual familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for the Juvenile Justice Commission confirmed the agency's intention to appeal Blee's order. Atlantic County and the other six counties with juvenile detention facilities have also filed motions in the appellate court challenging the November commission order. These documents, filed in December and January, question whether the commission overstepped its statutory authority when it ordered the other counties to accept Atlantic County youths and when it delegated responsibility to Atlantic County to assign juveniles to other counties
Juvenile Justice Detention Housing Atlantic County New Jersey Legal Dispute Appellate Court
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