New Jersey’s bail system went through a major overhaul. The days of simple appearing at the local police station, posting bail, and securing the release of a loved one are long gone. Our system is now based purely on a risk assessment. That means that if a Defendant is charged under a Compliant-Warrant, which most aggravated assault charges are, they must be taken from the local police station and lodged in the Mercer County Jail for at least 24 hours. During that time period Pretrial Services will conduct a risk assessment and that assessment will be used by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office to determine if bail is appropriate. If the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office will be agreeing to release the Defendant on certain bail conditions, that will take place at their Central Judicial Processing Hearing. If however, they decide to file a formal motion for detention that means they will be seeking to convince a Judge that the Defendant must be denied bail and held without bail pending trial. In order for this to happen a formal hearing must take place. During that hearing the Judge will hear arguments from both sides and after hearing the arguments they will be called upon to make the final decision regarding bail. For more information on bail hearings in Mercer County, please click the link.