New
Brunswick – Attorney General Peter
C. Harvey today announced the creation
of a uniform identification card for all
attorneys in the State of New Jersey.
The new I.D. card will provide attorneys
and sheriffs’ officers a more efficient
entry process to courthouses throughout
the state.
According to Attorney General Harvey,
the attorney identification card was born
out of discussions with the New Jersey
Bar Association, the New Jersey Sheriffs
Association and the Administrative Office
of the Courts. The new identification
card will replace the different county
bar association cards that are currently
being used by private lawyers. The current
county bar cards vary in design, quality
and date of expiration causing greater
confusion for sheriff officers. The new
identification provides uniformity so
that every sheriff officer at every courthouse
in New Jersey recognizes one form of identification
for private lawyers.
“The
new identification cards provide a number
of benefits because they provide uniformity
in all courthouses across the state,”
said Attorney General Harvey. “They
will ease access for lawyers who are entering
courthouses to do business, ease the screening
process for sheriffs’ officers and,
most importantly, heighten security.”
This new identification system does not
give lawyers a license to bypass security
procedures, added Attorney General Harvey.
Rather, it allows sheriffs’ officers
to establish separate lines or entrances
for attorneys while maintaining the same
level of security screening. The system
is intended to provide a more efficient
entry process in order to limit delays
to pending cases before juries and judges.
“The
NJSBA is proud to have worked with Attorney
General Harvey, the Sheriffs Association
and the AOC on this effort,” said
Stuart Hoberman, President of the New
Jersey State Bar Association. “Lawyers
across the state will benefit from the
use of uniform ID cards which will result
in standardized identification procedures
for lawyers that will facilitate entry
into courthouses. It is important to emphasize
that the changes announced today will
not compromise security but enhance it
by making the screening process done by
sheriff’s officers more efficient.”
“It’s
an innovative solution to a problem that
has existed for decades,” said Atlantic
County Sheriff James McGettigan, President
of the New Jersey Sheriffs Association.
“The new identification card enhances
security while expediting the judicial
process.”
The Attorney General announced the new
identification procedure at the New Jersey
State Bar Association Law Center in New
Brunswick.
The Office of the Attorney General will
be providing approximately $11,000 in
grants to each county sheriff’s
office for the purchase of a new identification
processing station.
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