Caution: Please take a deep breath before you read this absolute insanity.

Judge: Suspect in DSU slayings had right to earlier bail

Associated Press

Posted Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 5:36 pm

TRENTON — A suspect in the murders of three Delaware State University students in Newark, N.J., last month was entitled to bail on earlier charges even though he was in the country illegally, a retired judge said today.

Former Hudson County Assignment Judge Arthur N. D'Italia also said the public outcry over the case of 28-year-old Peruvian Jose Carranza reflected "a profoundly flawed understanding of the right to bail."

Carranza was out on bail at the time of the Aug. 4 slayings despite having been indicted on child rape and separate aggravated assault charges stemming from a bar fight.

"The primary purpose of bail in this state is to insure presence of the accused at trial, and the constitutional right to bail should not be unduly burdened," D'Italia wrote, quoting a 1972 state Supreme Court decision.

"Carranza was entitled to a reasonable bail that would insure his presence at trial on serious charges," he continued. "In fact, he appeared when required at two hearings subsequent to posting bail. Thus, the 'primary purpose of bail' under the New Jersey Constitution was satisfied."

A bail bondsman put up $150,000 — the lowest amount recommended for someone accused of sexually assaulting a child — for Carranza in May, allowing him to leave the Essex County Jail.

Seven months prior, he had paid $2,000 to get out of the same jail after being charged with assault and weapons possession after the bar fight. He was allowed to put up 10 percent after a judge set bail at $20,000.

Authorities have said they did not know Carranza was undocumented when those bails were set.

Under state law at the time, federal immigration officials were not required to be notified. The case prompted an outcry over the lack of communication between local authorities and immigration officials.

On Aug. 22, state Attorney General Anne Milgram ordered all New Jersey law enforcement authorities to notify federal immigration officials whenever an illegal immigrant is arrested for an indictable offense or drunken driving.

D'Italia conducted the review of Carranza's case on the order of state Supreme Court Justice Stuart Rabner.


http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... S/70905073