Legal Question in Criminal Law in New Jersey

Caselaw protects victims. In Pepe v Pepe, 258 N.J. Super. 157 (Chan. Div. 1992) held that the confidentiality provision of record keeping under the Domestic Violence act applies to the records kept on file with the Clerk of the Superior Court.The court held that in determining whether or not a statutory imposed confidential record should be made public, the court must consider whether the release of the documents will be harmful to the victim, whether adverse publicity will be a factor and whether access to court records will discourage the victim from coming forward.Despite the substantial financial burden and life restrictions (often referred to as penalties), the burden of proof in a DOMESTIC VIOLENCE hearing is only ?by a preponderance of evidence.? Hopefully, parties will put best interests of children ahead of short term animosity. Financial limitations often limit the family ability to become involved in lengthy divorce and custody battles.

We recommend you hire an attorney for this serious matter.

To read the entire article, please go to http://www.njlaws.com/RESTRAINING_ORDERS_in_DOMESTIC_VIOLENCE_CASES.htm