New York vs. New Jersey Criminal Homicide Laws Compared

Overview of the Two State Criminal Codes

Both New Jersey and New York have criminal codes that, separate from their common law counterparts, provide coherent outlines for the treatment of homicidal offenses — from the negligent to the egregious. Like all states, both are subject to Federal Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and cover homicide, murder, and manslaughter with respect to accusation, culpability, definition, procedural limitations, and punishment. Nevertheless, despite their similarities in purpose and penal achievement, the codes are each unique. New Jersey provides a legal umbrella through its 2C code, illuminating and simplifying the complex process of understanding criminal activity, particularly homicide. New York, on the other hand, disperses its criminal law throughout many sources and codes, presenting a far more complicated picture of definition and punishment. While each state touches on the issue of abortion, they lay out very different plans for legally addressing that highly politicized debate through their homicide law sets.

Purposes and Structures of Criminal Law

The Criminal Code of New Jersey clearly defines its purpose as the protection of civil society and its participants. It expressly states it is designed "to forbid, prevent, and condemn conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens serious harm to individual or public interests; to ensure the public safety by preventing the commission of offenses." (2C:1a, 1–3) Additionally, it seeks to exercise judicial authority through the executive branch by deterring crime via authorized sentences, rehabilitating those convicted, and protecting the public from offenders who cannot be safely restituted to society. (2C:1a, 1, 3) Through these goals, the code establishes a framework of social control that defines criminal activity in light of severity and mental state, and applies accepted scientific methods and commonly accepted knowledge in sentencing those who may be successfully rehabilitated. (2C:1b)

The New York Criminal Procedure Law, part of the New York State Consolidated Laws, affirms an equally benevolent and protective purpose: to shield society from the most violent crimes that afflict it. The Penal Law is analytically structured but, unlike the coherent code of New Jersey, includes four separate special sections — 120.00–165.74, 170.00–235.24, 240.00–275.45, and 400.00 onward. Also unlike New Jersey's 2C, the New York Penal Law contains an extensive list of offenses — from rapid transit crimes to criminal homicide — spread over a wide web of sources, making it a considerably more complicated system.

Culpability, Statutes of Limitations, and Common Law

Despite their differences, the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice begins as the New York code does, by outlining the power and presence of criminal statutes as they relate to society, the individuals protected, the criminals it seeks to socially modify, and the general applicability of the laws. While New Jersey law allows prosecution for certain crimes to take place at any time (N.J.S. 2C:11-3, N.J.S. 2C:11-4, N.J.S. 2C:14-2), 2C limits the general time for prosecution to within five years of commission, two years for disorderly offenses, and seven years for the more severe crimes set forth in N.J.S. 2C:27-2; it also makes separate rules for the treatment of minors. The code reaffirms the need for proof beyond reasonable doubt (2C:2-1) and provides for four levels of culpability: purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently, from most culpable to least.

According to 2C:1-5, all offenses defined by the criminal law statute are applicable to offenses defined by other statutes, but the two areas of legal conduct are specifically segregated. "Common law crimes are abolished and no conduct constitutes an offense unless the offense is defined by this code or another statute of this State." (2C:1-5, a) Despite this separation, the criminal statute reaffirms the authority of other laws, local units of government, and federal powers to enforce punishment for contempt, "either summarily or after the indictment," as well as other civil judgments or decrees. (2C:1-5, c, d)

Homicide Offenses in Both States

In both New York and New Jersey, the criminal codes address homicide through the concepts of actus reus, mens rea, and causation. Each state covers criminal homicide, murder, manslaughter, and aggravated manslaughter, and both include all aspects of homicide — including vehicular homicide — within their codes. By carefully outlining the levels of severity in the act of homicide and the degree of culpability, each state structures criminal offenses for homicide that can be evaluated in terms of punishment and placement within the law.

Conclusion: Divergence and Reform

In the state of New Jersey, with limitation, it is legal to have an abortion, but the protection of a fetus under law — as demonstrated by the homicide provisions of New York — is unmatched. While both states provide for the protection of victims in all forms of manslaughter and murder, they diverge sharply on the coverage, protection, culpability, and punishment involved in the killing of an unborn child. Because the political climate surrounding this issue is rife with religious conviction and social polarity, a legislative resolution is unlikely to come easily in the near future. While the debate over the legality and morality of abortion continues, the protection of the fetus should not be sacrificed in the process. New York, where the debate is no less intense than in its neighbor to the south, has found a workable solution for this difficult problem; New Jersey would be wise to follow suit.