SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 3201
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JUNE 13, 2024
The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3201.
As amended and reported by the committee, this bill upgrades certain penalties for assaulting a law enforcement officer. The amended bill also increases the penalty for assault with bodily fluids if the victim is a law enforcement officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, court service officer, or person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services and suffers serious bodily injury.
Under current law, it is a crime of the third degree to assault a law enforcement officer if the victim suffers bodily injury; otherwise, it is a crime of the fourth degree. Under this bill, the penalty for assaulting a law enforcement officer would become a crime of the second degree if the assault results in serious bodily injury to the officer. The bill provides that a conviction for assaulting a law enforcement officer would not merge with a conviction for any other criminal offense. Under the bill, a mandatory term of incarceration under the No Early Release Act (NERA) would not apply to second degree assault of a law enforcement officer, unless the assault resulted in seriously bodily injury. In addition, a person charged with second degree assault of a law enforcement officer would be prohibited from applying to enter a Pretrial Intervention Program.
The bill would also upgrade the penalty for assault with bodily fluids of a law enforcement officer, court services officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, or person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services who suffers serious bodily injury. Under current law, it is a crime of the fourth degree for a person to assault with bodily fluids a Department of Corrections employee, county correctional police officer, juvenile correctional police officer, State juvenile facility employee, juvenile detention staff member, probation officer, any sheriff, undersheriff or sheriff’s officer, or any municipal, county, or State law enforcement officer. If the victim suffers bodily injury, it is a crime of the third degree. The bill would add court service officers, firefighters, and persons engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services to the list of individuals protected under current law.
Under the bill, the penalty for assault with bodily fluids would be upgraded to a crime of the second degree if the victim suffers serious bodily injury. Additionally, any person charged with assault with a bodily fluid would be required to provide a blood sample or other biological sample drawn to be tested for communicable diseases at a clinical laboratory licensed by the Department of Health, upon consent given by the person charged or in compliance with a warrant issued by a judge of the Superior Court. The court would be required to issue a warrant upon finding there is probable cause to believe that the person’s blood or other bodily fluid came into contact with a victim of the assault and that the victim is at risk of transmission of a communicable disease. Additionally, a warrant would be required to be issued in accordance with the Rules of Court, if the judge is satisfied that sufficient grounds for granting the application have been shown. Any positive results for a communicable disease will be shared with the assault victim.
Under current law, serious bodily injury is defined as “ bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.” A crime of the second degree is punishable by five to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
1) provide that the penalty for assaulting a law enforcement officer would become a crime of the second degree if the assault results in serious bodily injury to the victim; as introduced the bill increased penalty also applied to the lesser bodily injury standard;
(2) increase the penalty for assault with bodily fluids to a crime of the second degree if the victim suffers serious bodily injury; as introduced, bill established a second degree crime if the victim suffered bodily injury;
(3) remove a provision prohibiting a defendant from entering a guilty plea to a lesser charge;
(4) provide that a person charged with second degree assault on a law enforcement officer resulting in serious bodily injury is ineligible for Pretrial Intervention Services;
(5) provide that a mandatory term of incarceration under the No Early Release Act (NERA) would not apply to second degree assault of a law enforcement officer, unless the assault resulted in serious bodily injury;
(6) add court service officers to the list of officers protected under current law from assault with bodily fluids;
(7) provide that a person charged with assault with a bodily fluid would be required to provide a blood or other biological sample upon consent or in accordance with a warrant issued by a judge of the Superior Court;
(8) require the court to issue a warrant for the collection of blood or other biological sample upon finding there is probable cause to believe that the person’s blood or other bodily fluid came into contact with a victim of the assault and the victim is at risk of transmission of a communicable disease; and
(9) require the warrant for the collection of blood or other biological sample to be issued in accordance with the Rules of Court if the judge is satisfied that sufficient grounds for granting the application have been shown.