ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 356

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY 23, 1997

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 356.

      This bill amends N.J.S.2C:12-1 and provides that a simple assault committed against a judge while clearly identifiable as being engaged in the performance of judicial duties or because of status as a member of the judiciary shall be graded to aggravated assault. The crime of assault on a judge would be graded as a crime of the third degree if the victim suffers bodily injury, otherwise it is a crime of the fourth degree. Present law upgrades simple assault in a similar manner when the victim is a law enforcement official, a fireman, a person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services, a school board member or school board employee or an employee of the Division of Youth and Family Services.

      This bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 1832 (1R).