NJ Lawmaker: People acquitted of crimes should be protected

In America you are innocent until proven guilty, but what if you were innocent all along?

Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge) said people found not guilty of charges deserve help to start rebuilding their lives and reputations. He sponsors a bill that would do just that.

The legislation would require the state attorney general and county prosecutors to remove from their websites all references and information about indictments and prosecutions of people who were later acquitted of the charges, or who had the charges against them dropped.

"We recognize that you can't completely scrub the entire Internet so this applies only to things they're in charge of. Things that they have control of, that they've put up on the Internet," Coughlin said. "It wouldn't cost anything. There's somebody responsible for putting it up. That same person would presumably be responsible for hitting the delete button and that would be the end of it."

The measure also requires the attorney general and county prosecutors to inform the public that the person who was indicted was acquitted of the charges or had the charges dismissed. That would include posting an updated press release on the websites.

In addition, they would also have to provide a letter to every person who was indicted or prosecuted and later acquitted or had the charges against him dismissed, certifying the resolution of their case.

"If the information stays on the websites obviously there's a stigma that goes along with that, but also as employers increasingly do web searches their name's going to turn up. Imagine the frustration of being charged with something you didn't do, having the matter dismissed only to come back years later to prevent you or to make it more difficult for you to get a job," Coughlin noted.

The bill was approved by the full Assembly on Dec. 15, and now heads to the state Senate for consideration.  The measure is co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson).