Judge rules NJ domestic violence laws unconstitutional

A Hudson County Superior Court ruled Monday to make getting temporary restraining orders harder. Judge Francis Schultz's ruled parts of the New Jersey Domestic Violence Act unconstitutional. Schultz

News 12 Staff

Jul 15, 2008, 12:00 AM

Updated 5,775 days ago

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Judge rules NJ domestic violence laws unconstitutional
A Hudson County Superior Court ruled Monday to make getting temporary restraining orders harder.
Judge Francis Schultz's ruled parts of the New Jersey Domestic Violence Act unconstitutional. Schultz decided an alleged victim needs to prove abuse with clear and convincing evidence for a restraining order.
Attorney Ian Hirsch says some people do take advantage of the broad scope of New Jersey's broad domestic violence laws.
"A lot of women use domestic violence statutes as a means of getting their husbands out of the house, because they can't stand them," says Hirsch.
However, Hirsch says he wouldn't have made the ruling as the law is there to protect possible victims and can be reversed if claims aren't justified.
"Every order on the bottom, gives the person being restrained the right to come right back into court to demonstrate that what was said is not true and it can maybe be immediately released," he says.
New Jersey typically issues about 30,000 restraining orders per year.


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