The New Jersey judiciary released a report on its investigation into allegations made by Judge Jason Witcher regarding discrimination against Latino defendants in his courtroom and a plan for statewide reform to raise awareness of interpreting services for both virtual and in-person appearances.

On Dec. 5, 2022, Witcher alleged that a disproportionate number of Latino defendants were required to appear for court in person, while others were allowed to appear virtually. According to the report, in order for the judiciary to determine the veracity of the allegations, it categorized surnames that were “Hispanic/Latino sounding.” After reviewing the defendant rosters, the judiciary concluded that Hispanic/Latino individuals were consistently scheduled for both virtual and in-person court sessions and were more likely to appear virtually.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]