SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3190

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 16, 2024

      The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3190.

      This bill would require juveniles to appear before the court in the county where the alleged act of delinquency occurred.  The bill would also require that the court provide a juvenile with reasonable transportation accommodations to ensure the juvenile’s appearance before the court.

      Currently, under Court Rule 5:19-1(a)(1), “when the juvenile charged is domiciled in a county other than the county of the alleged occurrence, venue shall be laid in the county of the juvenile’s domicile unless the court finds good cause for venue to be retained in the county where the incident allegedly occurred.”  This bill would eliminate the county of the juvenile’s domicile as the default venue and make the county in which the alleged act of delinquency occurred the venue for the delinquency proceedings.