PBA ATTORNEY: PUBLIC DEFENDER’S ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE REVEALS WARDEN SMITH’S GROSS INCOMPETENCE

(VINELAND, NJ) – Stuart Alterman, attorney for PBA Local 231, today commented on the New Jersey Office of Public Defender’s order to show cause filed on October 15, 2020 before the Superior Court of Cumberland County regarding the defunding and closure of the Cumberland County Jail, criticizing Warden Richard Smith for his gross incompetence.

The complaint mentions several misfires by the county Department of Corrections; however, the most cutting is the following:

“Cumberland County’s plan provides no safeguards or assurances that Cumberland County inmates can continue to see their attorneys and loved ones in-person once they are housed dozens miles away from their communities. The entire idea consists of nothing more than three ten-page contracts, cobbled together only days before they were voted upon at a special Freeholder meeting, which are devoid of any concrete terms or plans for how the criminal justice system will carry on in light of the closure and transfers. Shockingly, the Freeholders have not received approval from the New Jersey Department of Corrections or the Cumberland County Superior Court, both of which are charged with various oversight responsibilities for the housing and transfer of county inmates.”

“The New Jersey Public Defender’s are making a powerful and well-reasoned argument on why this plan cannot move forward,” said Stuart Alterman, a 30-year attorney for PBA Local #231. “They are essentially saying that the county’s defunding plan is held together by bubble gum, dental floss, and would deny inmates their constitutional rights.”

“All of this translates into: Warden Smith isn’t qualified, is incompetent, has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and committed professional malfeasance in the process,” said Alterman.