Auge v. N.J. Dep’t of Corr., 743 A.2d 315 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2000)

Cases | Auge v. N.J. Dep¿t of Corr., 743 A.2d 315 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2000) | 2018

The appellant, incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison, appealed the Department of Corrections’ action of imposing a ten percent surcharge upon his purchase from the prison commissary; the surcharge was instituted to raise money for the Victims of Crime Compensation Board Account. The appellant contended that the surcharge: 1) violated the ex post facto clause of the Constitution because the authorizing statute was not in place at the time that the defendant committed the crime for which he was incarcerated; and 2) violated substantive due process. The superior court held that: 1) the surcharge was civil in nature and thus did not violate the ex post facto clause of the Constitution; and 2) the surcharge did not violate substantive due process because it was rationally related to a legitimate state interest, the compensation of victims of violent crimes. The judgment was affirmed.