NJ Family Legal Blog : New Jersey Divorce and Family Lawyer & Attorney : Fox Rothschild Law Firm : Domestic Violence, Prenuptial Agreements, Child Custody

Mark Ashton, a partner in our Exton (Chester County), Pennsylvania office and the editor of our Pennsylvania Family Law Blog, wrote an interesting post entitled "The Dangerous Trend in Electronics" on that blog.

To read the complete post, click here.

The post, among other things, discusses how people can be bullied by their spouses and significant others by the use of emails and text messages. 

More and more, we are seeing emails and text messages attached as exhibits to motions and as evidence at domestic violence hearings and divorce and custody trials.  As one of my adversaries likes to say, the "E" in email is for eternal.  Put another way, when a person types and sends and email or text message, they create a piece of evidence that can be used against them.  While most of the emails and texts sent each day are benign, more and more we see people act extremely inappropriately using these methods.  Perhaps people are emboldened to be more brash because the communication, while direct, is not face to face.  As such, it seems that almost every week I an suggesting that an email communication be toned down because they may be too aggressive.  I am also telling people to limit the email discussions to factual and/or logistical discussions and not get into the nonsense, even if their spouse is doing so.

I have a case now where we have used a spouses emails against him and yet he continues with his aggressive, belittling and/or outrageous emails.  While this will ultimately provide a treasure trove of information if there is a trial, it also needlessly drives of the hostility and legal fees.  In another recent matter, a spouse was trying to use emails to drive a wedge between his wife and counsel. 

The bottom line is twofold:  (1) no one deserves to be bullied, even via email and text message, and the recipient of this type of abuse should take all necessary steps at self-protection and (2) litigants going through a divorce should be very careful about how they treat the other party in emails and text messages.

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A victim of domestic violence is often subjected to a life of terror and fear that her abuser will be around the next corner. The New Jersey Appellate Division has recently taken an important step in  efforts to protect the future of victims of domestic violence. In a case only referred to by its initials, the court relaxed the rule providing for the publication of an official name change. Usually, when an individual in New Jersey wishes to change his or her name, a notice must be published in a newspaper to put the "world" on notice. The reasoning behind this is that creditors and others will aware of a change as it is unlawful for an individual to change their name for the purpose of avoiding creditors, to avoid criminal prosecution, or for fraudulent reasons. The records of a name change application are generally available to the public.

In the case of The Application of E.F.G. to Assume a New Name , the Plaintiff had been a victim of long term, vicious domestic violence. Court records, police records and  her medical records including photographs demonstrated that her abuser had subjected her to life threatening violence and that there was a significant risk that he would cause additional harm in the future.

Wishing to begin a new life of safety away from her abuser, the Plaintiff sought to take a new name. However, she asked that she not be subject to the usual publication requirement and that the record of her application be sealed. She made this request in an effort to prevent her abuser from determining her new name and address. The Court noted the stated public policy of the New Jersey Legislature that “it is the responsibility of the courts to protect victims of domestic violence…by providing long term civil and criminal remedies…that are available to assure the safety of the victims and the public” Also, the Court echoed the words of the New Jersey Supreme Court in the case of Brennan v. Orban, 145 N.J. 282 (1996) when it said that “we believe that there is no such thing as an act of domestic violence that is not serious.” 

The Court  found that when faced with such a request, a judge must undertake an analysis of the facts and when an applicant has demonstrated a true and justifiable concern for her (or his) personal safety as a result of a history of abuse, that judge may relax the rules as necessary. In this case, the court determined that if it did not relax the rules, and if it forced the victim to publish her application, she would be denied “the one avenue to obtain peace in her life, and the opportunity to live without fear.”

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