New Jersey Family Law Blog

As 2010 was drawing to a close, New Jersey lawmakers were busy adopting bills to improve the rights of victims of violent crimes including victims of domestic violence.

The first bill, which was signed into law last month by Gov. Chris Christie, extended the time-frame under which victims of violent crimes, including domestic violence, could, under certain circumstances, collect compensation benefits from the State through the Victims of Crime Compensation Office (VCCO).

Previously violent crime victims or, in some cases, their dependents and families, could receive State benefits to cover expenses incurred as a result of the crime for a period of five years after the crime was committed. Those expenses may include physical and mental medical bills and relocation costs.

The new law recognizes that the duration of criminal proceedings cannot be predicted and could actually take longer than the five-year time-frame for collecting benefits. Under the new law, if a victim has to relocate or seeks counseling out of fear of recurrence of the violence while the case is being resolved, the VCCO could approve additional compensation benefits if it takes more than five years to resolve that case. In order to be eligible for compensation, a victim or the family of a victim must report the crime within three months and file a claim application within two years of the crime. (1)

The second bill is aimed specifically at victims of domestic violence. This bill recognizes self-defense as an allowable justification in some cases where the victim uses force to protect him or herself from an abuser. This bill would allow such things as restraining orders, the reasons for such orders, any violation of the orders or commission of domestic violence by the person the restraining order was issued against to be considered when determining if force used by the victim against the abuser was justified. (2)

Domestic violence continues to be a growing concern. A report issued late last year noted that 73,709 incidents of domestic violence were reported in New Jersey in 2009, representing a 4% increase from the previous year, despite the fact that overall violent crimes in the State were down 4% for the same period. (3)

(1) http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/new-law-allows-nj-to-compensate-violent-crime-victims-5-years-after-incidents

(2) http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2010/12/domestic_violence_victims_righ.html

(3) http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/new-jersey-crime-rate-drops-9-percent

Last month the NJ Assembly Judiciary Committee approved three bills designed to help the New Jersey’s domestic violence victims. The bills address the issues of bail restrictions for restraining order violators, self-defense justification pleas, and lease and rental protections for domestic violence victims. (1)

Under the first bill, violators of restraining orders resulting from domestic violence incidents would be required to post the full amount of their bail, as opposed to the 10% currently required. The bail would need to be paid in cash or by bail or surety bond. In addition, bail would be increased to a minimum of $5,000 if the violation of the restraining order was criminal in nature and to a minimum of $2,500 if the violation amounted to a disorderly person offense. (2)

The second bill paves the way for a self-defense plea for victims of domestic violence. This bill would allow evidence of domestic violence restraining orders to be admitted and considered in cases where individuals protected by the orders used force to protect themselves against their abusers. (1)

The third bill would allow victims of domestic violence, including victims of stalking or sexual assault, to break a lease or rental agreement in order to escape a violent situation without incurring repercussions from future landlords. (3)

All three bills are pending consideration of the full Assembly. (1)

(1) http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2010/10/assembly_judiciary_committee_o.html

(2) http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/nj_assembly_advances_legislati.html

(3) http://www.politickernj.com/42158/assembly-committees-consider-bills-help-domestic-violence-victims-unemployed-residents-farmers

The statistics are alarming: in one year, close to 1.5 million high school students in this country suffer physical abuse at the hands of the person they are dating. (1) This issue is not unique to any specific social, economic or racial group and the most serious cases end up in the headlines. Now New Jersey is considering steps to help stop this growing social problem.

This week a State Assembly panel approved a bill, introduced by the Education Committee, which would require schools to include lessons on dating violence in their health curriculum. The lessons would be geared toward middle and high school students in grades 7 through 12. In addition, teachers and other staff members would be trained to recognize the signs and handle incidents of dating violence that may occur at school. (1)

Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey released the following statistics, supporting the need for education about this social issue:

• One out of every three dating teenage girls in this country is the victim of abuse -- physical, verbal or emotional;

• 59% of dating students have suffered physical violence;

• 96% of dating students have been emotionally or psychologically abused;

• 57% of high school students know of someone in an abusive relationship. (2)

Many teens involved in abusive relationships turn to friends for advice and help before confiding in an adult. The proposed bill would help teens to identify violent relationships by providing them with a definition of a healty relationship and examples of what healthy relationships might look like. Teens would also be taught to recognize the warning signs of an abusive relationship.

Other states in the country are considering comparable laws and six have already passed similar legislation. One of those states is Rhode Island, home state of Lindsey Ann Burke, a 23-year-old victim of dating abuse who had been murdered by an ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately, stories like Burke’s are not rare. In fact, 30% of 15- to 19-year-olds who are murdered every year are killed by husbands, boyfriends or former boyfriends. (3)

The New Jersey legislation is pending a vote by the full Assembly. An identical bill has been introduced in the State Senate. (1)

(1) http://www.mycentraljersey.com/fdcp/?1285634669677
(2) http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/local-press-releases/ppcnjs-dating-violence-prevention-programs-helping-teens-recognize-unhealthy-relationships-31609.htm
(3) http://www.njassemblyrepublicans.com/press_release.php?id=1601

When Terry Dusseault Sr. ran off with his 8-year-old son on August 25, police did not hesitate to issue an Amber Alert. The senior Dusseault was a registered sex offender and his brother was concerned about his mental condition when Dusseault Sr. took his son. The two were found unharmed the next day when a passing motorist spotted Dusseault’s car and notified police. (1)

That was not the case earlier this year for three-month-old Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem who was abducted by her father. It took several hours for police to determine that the infant was in danger. By the time they issued an Amber Alert, the baby’s father, Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem, had thrown her off the Garden State Parkway Bridge and into the Raritan River. Abdur-Raheem was indicted this week on several charges, including kidnapping and murder. He is being held on $2 million bail in Essex County jail. (2)

Continue reading "Amber Alert Changes Clarify Guidelines " »

Two years after the murder of a New Jersey mother of two, state lawmakers are considering a bill that would increase protection for victims of domestic violence and the children of those families.

In June 2008, Monica Paul was shot and killed, allegedly by her estranged boyfriend, in a north Jersey YMCA while her 4-year-old son was in swimming class. The couple’s 11-year-old daughter witnessed the incident. Ms. Paul had taken out a restraining order against the boyfriend, Kenneth Duckett, shortly before the shooting. (1)

Continue reading "New Jersey Lawmakers Seek Greater Protection for Families of Domestic Violence" »

Court Enunciates New Test for Tolling Child Sex Abuse Statute of Limitations
By Michael Booth
New Jersey Law Journal
June 11, 2009

The state Supreme Court on Thursday set out a two-stage analysis that trial judges must conduct to decide whether and for how long the two-year statute of limitations in child sexual abuse suits can be tolled.

The formula, which includes objective and subjective elements, will determine whether a Morris County man can pursue a suit, filed in 2004, alleging that his stepfather sexually assaulted him multiple times from 1987 and 1990, when he was between ages 10 to 12.

Superior Judge David Rand dismissed the suit as time-barred, but the Appellate Division reversed, saying the plaintiff did not appreciate that the abuse caused his emotional injuries until undergoing psychotherapy in 2002 and thus that the complaint was filed within two years of accrual of the cause of action.

In Thursday's ruling, R L. v. Voytac, A-61-08, Justice John Wallace Jr. said both lower courts erred. Rand did not conduct a thorough enough inquiry into when the plaintiff should have known that the root of his problems lay with the alleged sexual abuse, which the stepfather, Kenneth Voytac, denies.

And the Appellate Division mistakenly conflated two provisions in the Child Sexual Abuse Act. An action for child sex abuse must be filed within two years after "the reasonable discovery of the injury and its casual relationship to the act of sexual abuse" but the limitations period may be tolled because of the plaintiff's "mental state, duress by the defendant, or any other equitable grounds," the act says.

"We conclude that pursuant to the Act, the trial court must first determine when a reasonable person subjected to childhood abuse would discover that the defendant's conduct caused him or her injury. That is an objective test," wrote Wallace. "If that period is more than two years prior to the filing of the complaint, then the court must next determine whether the statute should be tolled because of 'the mental state, duress by the defendant, or any other equitable grounds.'"

The justices remanded the case for that analysis and said that since Rand made several factual and credibility findings, another judge should handle it.

Voytac's lawyer, William Johnson, says he and is client are pleased with the ruling. "The Court correctly interpreted the act as saying there is an objective standard to be applied when determining when the cause of action accrued," says Johnson, of Dover's Johnson & Johnson. "The Appellate Division had applied a subjective standard."

R.L.'s lawyer, Victor Rotolo, who runs his own firm in Lebanon, says he relishes retrying the case. "I have to go back to the beginning, but that's fine," he says. "The ruling gives plaintiffs a clear roadmap as to what they have to do."

Loveland v. Hauke, N.J.Super.A.D., 2007 (unpublished opinion).

This is a domestic violence case where the plaintiff alleged defendant acted with a purpose or intent to harass.

The plaintiff, in attempting to explain her fear, attempted to testify to incidents that were not outlined in her complaint. In fact, the plaintiff informed a police officer that there were no prior instances of domestic violence. Therefore, the plaintiff was not allowed to testify to any incidents before the incident at issue.

The Trial Court issued a Final Restraining Order. Defendant appealed.

Continue reading "New Jersey: Final Restraining Order Reversed on Grounds that Complaint was Insufficient" »