What a judge says before, during or after a hearing “off-the-record” likely sheds light on the Court’s decision making process including, but not limited to, what evidence was considered and
Continue Reading Off-the-Record Comments & the Right to an Impartial Final Restraining Order Hearing
Seems pretty obvious that if a court is going to explain the ramifications of the right to have counsel in a domestic violence matter and the ramifications of the entry
Continue Reading Right to Counsel and Notice of Consequences of a Domestic Violence Finding is Required Before – Not After- the Finding
Typically, general prohibitory language within a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) states that a Defendant is “prohibited from having any oral, written, personal, electronic, or other form of contact or communication
Continue Reading Contempt & Communications Initiated Prior to Entry and Service of Restraining Orders
In January 2020, the Appellate Division considered an important question: how should a judge assess a party’s request to appear at a trial and present testimony by way of video
Continue Reading Remote Proceedings: Zooming Past Litigants’ Due Process Rights By: Arrianna T. Diamantis
There used to be a family judge, who, with his law clerk, spent a lot of time on Google, looking up property records, Zillow “values” and other information regarding the
Continue Reading Can Judges Rely on Information that is Outside of the Record?
One thing this pandemic has taught me about my fellow lawyers: we are adaptable.
Just take the lawyer trapped in a cat filter as an example. Despite his adorable faux
Continue Reading I’m Not a Cat, But Can I Get Divorced Over Zoom Anyway?
Victims of abuse have many reasons for not reporting prior acts of domestic violence – either to friends, family, co-workers, etc. or the police. Logically, the failure to report does
Continue Reading A Victim of Domestic Violence Need Not Have Disclosed the Abuse to Another to Establish a Predicate Act of Domestic Violence
More than 11 years ago, I wrote a post on this blog entitled The Abuse and Misuse of the Domestic Violence Statute. From the statistics, we can see that
Continue Reading If You Want to Keep Your Final Restraining Order, Maintaining a Sexual Relationship with the Defendant Is a Bad Idea
In a recent decision, E.H. v. K.H., the Appellate Division made clear that a finding of harassment in connection with the entry of a domestic violence restraining order must
Continue Reading Statutes and Subsequent Qualification by the Supreme Court – They Both Matter.
It is important to understand the requirements to obtain a Final Restraining Order or to defend against the entry of one. Through case law and the New Jersey legislature, there
Continue Reading The Appellate Division Reaffirms the Basic Tenets of Who You Can Get a Final Restraining Order Against