Clients who apply to the state’s Intensive Supervision Programs (ISP) through the Administrative Office of the Courts can obtain representation through the NJOPD for those hearings.
ISP programs provide alternative, intermediate forms of community-based correctional supervision, allowing some offenders to serve sentences outside the traditional prison settings.
Those people convicted of a homicide, robbery or sex offense, or sentenced on a first-degree offense are not eligible for ISP. However, most other offenders may apply. The most common forms of community-based supervision involved Department of Corrections officers maintaining both telephone and personal contact with offenders. In some instances, electronic monitoring devices are required to be worn.
The program focuses on helping participants change their lives, so that they may avoid the elements that have caused their past problems. Drug, alcohol and gambling counseling, curfews, community service and employment requirements are among the components of plans participants must follow to remain in the program.
NJOPD attorneys also represent ISP program participants charged with violating the terms and conditions of their community-based supervision. Violations can result in the participant being moved from the ISP program into a traditional prison setting.
The unit is directed by Deputy Public Defender Larry L. Bembry, who also serves as the NJOPD’s Statewide Drug Court Director. Fred W. Hogan serves as the ISP Liaison, as well as being the Drug Court Coordinator.
Biography of Larry L. Bembry, Esq.
Larry Bembry has devoted his entire professional career to representing the interests of his community. He has a diverse background as a public official in local and state governments, practicing law in the private sector, and having served as an executive and board member for several community private non-profit organizations.
Mr. Bembry previously directed the Office of Grants Administration and Compliance for the city of Jersey City. His duties involved managing all stages of the Jersey City grant process, including the development of grant proposals, execution and implementation of all grant agreements on behalf of the city.
Mr. Bembry is also a former Assistant Corporation Counsel for the city of Jersey City. In addition, he has represented the City of East Orange and the Township of Hillside as a Hearing Officer and Litigation Attorney, respectively. He has practiced law in the private sector with the Law Firm formerly named Timins Beacham and Hughes for several years prior to providing legal services for the two municipalities.
As a former staff counsel and regulatory officer for the New Jersey Department of Insurance (currently known as the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance) and the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, Mr. Bembry honed his legal skills in insurance and real estate law. Subsequently, then Gov. James Florio appointed him as one of the first Ombudsman to the New Jersey Department of Insurance. During the same period, he served as one of the Commissioners on the New Jersey Real Estate
Commission from 1992 to 1994.
More recently, Mr. Bembry was appointed to serve as a member of the New Jersey Committee on Police Standards convened to determine whether federal monitoring of New Jersey State Police should be terminated.
In his commitment to “give back” to his community, Mr. Bembry worked with several private community based organizations, including the Urban League of Hudson County and Newark Fighting Back Partnership (NFBP).
As the executive director of NFBP, an anti-substance abuse coalition previously funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Mr. Bembry participated with the Essex County Drug Court Program by providing staff assistance and community resources. He takes pride knowing that his organization contributed to the success of the Essex County Drug Court during its formative years as a pilot initiative in New Jersey.
Mr. Bembry also participated in a series of Drug Court training conferences which culminated in the development of a proposal to establish a municipal Drug Court Program in Jersey City.
Mr. Bembry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Rutgers University, a Masters of Arts degree in Sociology from New Jersey City University and a Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University Law School.
He is the recipient of numerous awards from professional and civic organizations. He is also a former Honorable mentioned NCAA All-American Basketball player. Larry’s leadership abilities began to flourish as the captain of the Weequahic High School State Champion Basketball Team of Newark, New Jersey, ranked as the best high school basketball team in the country in 1966 and 1967.
Finally, Mr. Bembry is married and the proud father of two children. He resides with his family in West Orange, New Jersey.
Biography of Fred Hogan
Fred W. Hogan is the statewide Drug Court Coordinator and Liaison for the Intensive Supervision Program for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.
Mr. Hogan works with Larry L. Bembry, the Deputy Public Defender in charge of the Drug Court and ISP Units. His assignments include the on-going development of a statewide coordinated strategy for Drug Court in the state using a therapeutic jurisprudence approach, clinically driven treatment modalities and a statewide data collection project.
He also serves as Liaison of the Intensive Supervision Program, which is an early prison release program designed with therapeutic intervention, strong case planning and close monitoring. In this capacity, Mr. Hogan’s assignments include coordinating unit attorneys and their work along with other staff members, protocol compliance, and training of regional drug court personnel throughout the state of New Jersey.
Mr. Hogan also serves on the statewide Drug Court Steering Committee, which is comprised of major stakeholder organizations in the administration of justice, including the Administrative Office of the Courts, Division of Addiction Services, Department of Corrections, the Office the Attorney General, and the Governor’s Office. In this capacity, he has played a vital role in policy development, collaboration, community outreach, and education. Mr. Hogan is also the project supervisor for Safer Cities Initiative, a community based program for serious violent offenders.
Mr. Hogan works on various programs to ensure a smooth reentry into the community for our clients. In conjunction with this service, he serves as the Field Coordinator for the Office of the Public Defender Community Assistance Program which is a federally funded AmeriCorps program designed to assist clients in accessing necessary services to support them as they remain in the community. The Community Assistance Program utilizes Life Skills Advocates in a strength based approach to assist clients in obtaining mental health and drug treatment, jobs, education and other human services.
Mr. Hogan is a Board Member on the Council of Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, an organization that provides education, recommendation, evaluation, and treatment for compulsive and pathological gamblers. The organization maintains the nationally known help line 1-800Gambler. He is also a member of the American Compulsive Gambling Counselor Certification Board which certifies compulsive gambling counselors. Mr. Hogan is a founding member of the Association of Professionals Treating Problem Gambling. Other organizational memberships include The National Association of Drug Court Professionals, The Thurgood Marshall Action Coalition, Association for the Wrongfully Convicted, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of New Jersey, and he is also an associate member of the American Bar Association.
Mr. Hogan is a Certified Social Worker, Certified Criminal Justice Counselor and Certified Compulsive Gambling Counselor.
Other highlights of his career came about during his tenure as an investigator in the Office of the Public Defender in 1971 when he was requested to respond to Rahway State Prison along with then Public Defender Stanley C. Van Ness to negotiate with the inmates to release hostages and restore order to the prison uprising. As a result of this, Mr. Hogan became very active in the inmate advocacy unit of the Public Advocate.
In 1973, Mr. Hogan obtained recantation statements from two key prosecution witnesses in the internationally known trial of John Artis and Rubin Hurricane Carter. As a result of his work on this case he has been recognized and acknowledged as an outstanding advocate for justice by his peers and media nationwide.
