Editor, Gazette-Journal:

With the election of a new prosecutor for Gloucester County, now is a good time to address an issue that shows weekly in the pages of this paper. That issue is the number of cases coming before the court that are dismissed outright or nolle prossed, which usually means there’s not enough evidence for conviction, but charges can be reinstated later. The latest issue of this paper provides a glaring example that something is amiss in the county justice system. Reading the court proceedings in the Gazette-Journal shows that eight defendants had charges dismissed or nolle prossed, all for similar crimes. A sample follows:

—1 defendant: grand larceny, possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen property. Nolle prossed.

—1 defendant: Two counts of grand larceny, possession of stolen property with intent to sell. Nolle prossed.

—1 defendant: Grand larceny, possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen property with intent ...