New Standing Order regarding return of passports

The District Court for the District of New Jersey recently adopted a Standing Order regarding the disposition of passports surrendered to Pretrial Services while a defendant is on pretrial release. The goal of the Standing Order is to obviate the need for motions by defense counsel or defendants themselves in order to effectuate the return of travel documents. The Standing Order covers the return of both United States passports and foreign travel documents to United States citizens and non-citizens upon dismissal, acquittal, and the imposition of various length sentences.