News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Office of Communications
Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544-5264
Telephone 609-258-3601; Fax 609-258-1301PRESS ADVISORY:
"The Penal and Criminal Justice System in New Jersey - What's the Verdict?"
On Friday, April 9, 1999, Princeton University's Office of Community and State Affairs in collaboration with the New Jersey State Legislature and the University's Woodrow Wilson School is sponsoring the annual Symposium on Public Issues reflecting the issues and concerns facing the New Jersey State legislators. The topic of this year's program is: "The Penal and Criminal Justice System in New Jersey - What's the Verdict?"
New Jersey's Chief Justice Deborah Poritz will deliver the keynote speech, which will be followed by a panel discussion among professionals working in the criminal justice field, academics and legislators. The program will begin at 8 a.m. and conclude with lunch. (See AGENDA for detailed schedule and list of participants.)
University President Harold Shapiro proposed this annual symposium three years ago, as a way the University could make a significant and ongoing contribution to the State of New Jersey. The first symposium featured First Lady Hillary Clinton speaking on the topic of early childhood education.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, contact Pam Hersh, (609) 258-3018, Office of Community and State Affairs, Princeton University.
Schedule:
Woodrow Wilson School Auditorium,
Princeton University Campus
(corner of Prospect Avenue and Washington Road)8 a.m. to 8:25 a.m. - Continental breakfast and registration.
8:30 a.m. - Introductory remarks by Princeton University Vice President Robert Durkee, Assembly Speaker Jack Collins and Senate President Donald DiFrancesco.
8:50 a.m. - Chief Justice Deborah Poritz - keynote speech.
9:30a.m. - Break
9:50 a.m. - Princeton University Professor John DiIulio introduces panel discussion.
10:00 a.m. - Panel discussion. Comments from area experts, followed by responses from legislators.
Panelists: Superior Court/Appellate Division Judge Philip Carchman, former Assembly Speaker Alan Karcher, former Middlesex County Judge and former prosecutor John Kuhlthau, Professor James Finckenauer of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, Senator Diane Allen, Senator John Bennett, Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Senator Garry Furnari, Assemblywoman Rose Heck, Assemblyman Gerald Luongo, Assemblyman Joseph Suliga, Assemblyman John Wisniewski.
Bios:
DEBORAH T. PORITZ, keynote speaker. The first woman to serve as New Jersey's Chief Justice, Poritz was sworn in on July 10, 1996. With extensive experience as an attorney in the private and public sector, she has been particularly visible as chief counsel to Gov. Thomas Kean and as attorney general under Gov. Christine Whitman. In that role, she argued the constitutionality of landmark sex-offender legislation before the N. J. Supreme Court.
PHILIP S. CARCHMAN, panelist. Appointed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court in September 1997, Carchman has a distinguished career in the judicial system. He has served as assignment judge, Superior Court; presiding judge, Chancery Division, Family Part, and Civil Part, Superior Court; municipal court judge, Princeton Borough and Princeton Township; Mercer County prosecutor, and N.J. deputy attorney general. Before becoming a Superior Court judge, Carchman was a partner in a private law practice.
JOHN J. DIIULIO, panelist and moderator. Professor of public policy at Princeton, DiIulio directs the Jeremiah Project, which focuses on faith-based programs for inner-city youth and young adults, with a special emphasis on achieving literacy, avoiding violence, and accessing jobs. Nationally recognized for his expertise in the area of criminal justice, DiIulio has written numerous books, including No Escape: The Future of American Corrections, as well as magazine and newspaper articles for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the New Republic, and the National Review.
JAMES O. FINCKENAUER, panelist. Director of the International Center at the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., Finckenauer is on leave from his position as professor of criminal justice at Rutgers University. He is a member of the Council of Academic Policy Advisors of the state Legislature. His most recent publication, Scared Straight Revisited, examines the myths that sustain certain popular crime prevention programs in the face of research evidence that seems to demonstrate their ineffectiveness.
ALAN J. KARCHER, panelist. Author, lawyer, former Assemblyman (1974-1990) and Assembly Speaker (1982-1986), Karcher played a key role in the adoption of the state's first Uniform Penal Code, which provided guidelines for presumptive sentences. In 1982, Karcher argued against the restoration of the death penalty and in favor of using the resources that would go into enforcing the death penalty on law enforcement measures.
JOHN S. KUHLTHAU, panelist. Serving as Superior Court judge from 1983 to 1997, Kuhlthau has worked in several aspects of New Jersey's criminal justice system. In addition to having worked as an attorney in private practice, Kuhlthau has been presiding judge of the Middlesex County District Court, Middlesex County prosecutor, and primetime assistant deputy public defender for the Middlesex region. During Kulthau's tenure as the first full-time prosecutor in Middlesex, the County Narcotics Task Force, the County Rape Crisis Unit, and the County Police Academy were implemented.
DIANE ALLEN, legislator panelist. State Senator (7th District) Allen, the owner of a video production company, served one term in the Assembly prior to being sworn into the Senate in January 1998. While in the Assembly, she sponsored prison and parole reforms requiring violent criminals to serve 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for parole.
JOHN O. BENNETT, legislator panelist. State Senator (12th District) Bennett, a municipal attorney, has served in the Senate since 1989 and was an Assemblyman for a decade prior to becoming a senator. Among the many pieces of legislation he sponsored during the past 20 years is the bill known as the No Early Release Act.
JACK COLLINS, legislator panelist and introducer. State Assemblyman (3rd District) Collins is serving his seventh term and has been Speaker of the Assembly since 1996. A professor in the education and administration department of Rowan College, Collins also is a member of the state bar.
HERBERT C. CONAWAY, JR., legislator panelist. State Assemblyman (7th District) Conaway has served in the Legislature since 1998. A practicing physician at Cooper Hospital in Camden, Conaway also has a law degree
DONALD T. DIFRANCESCO, legislator panelist/introducer. State Senator (22nd District) and president of the Senate since January 1992, DiFrancesco, a lawyer in Warren Township, was first elected in 1979. He is known for his sponsorship of numerous laws to assist families in crisis situations.
GARRY J. FURNARI, legislator panelist. State Senator (36th District) Funari, who practices law in Nutley, began his service in the Legislature in 1998. He previously served the municipality of Nutley as prosecutor and municipal attorney.
ROSE MARIE HECK, legislator panelist. State Assemblywoman (38th District) Heck has been a member of the Assembly since 1991. She is managing editor of two weekly newspapers.
GERALD J. LUONGO, legislator panelist. State Assemblyman (4th District) Luongo is new to the Assembly, but has a long history of community government service. The mayor of Washington Township since 1989, Luongo, who holds a Ph.D in administration, has worked professionally in the area of education administration.
JOSEPH S. SULIGA, legislator panelist. State Assemblyman (20th District) Suliga is serving his third term in the Assembly, owns an Italian ices manufacturing company, and is the chief financial officer for Linden.
JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI, legislator panelist. State Assemblyman (19th District) Wisniewski has served since 1996 and is a partner in a law firm based in Tinton Falls and Sayreville.