RADAR ALERT: New Jersey Supreme Court OKs Issuing Restraining Orders Based On Lowest Standard Of Proof

Bad news!

The Supreme Court of New Jersey upheld the appellate decision in Crespo v. Crespo that found the New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act constitutional. The Supreme Court decision is cursory. They state initially that "The judgment of the Appellate Division is affirmed substantially for the reasons expressed in the thorough opinion by Judge Fisher." They then quickly summarize the appellate decision. They only add the observation that the issue of whether the Second Amendment right to own a gun applies to the States is presently pending before the United States Supreme Court, and then state that they "need not reach that point because the right to possess firearms clearly may be subject to reasonable limitations," thus implying that even if New Jersey has to respect gun rights, New Jersey taking away the gun rights of someone pursuant to the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act constitutes a reasonable limitation.

A syllabus the of the decision can be found here (.pdf).

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Date of RADAR Release: Febuary 19, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://www.mediaradar.org