In light of the national emergency due to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19), courts and law enforcement agencies at every level of Government have taken extraordinary actions:
FEDERAL
- For more information, see our prior posts.
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
- The Judiciary has temporarily modified the procedures for victims of sexual assault to apply for a protective order under the Sexual Assault Survivor Protection Act (“SASPA”). A downloadable packet to apply for a protective order is available on the Judiciary's website (njcourts.gov) to be used by the plaintiff/victim or the parent of a victim. The packet includes forms and instructions. The completed forms must be emailed to the Family Division in any county in which the plaintiff/victim or defendant resides or in which the alleged assault occurred. Family Division staff will review the submitted paperwork and contact the plaintiff to coordinate a time for a telephonic or video hearing on the application before a Superior Court judge. If you are a victim of domestic violence and want to file for a domestic violence restraining order, contact an attorney and your local law enforcement agency. If you have been served with a temporary restraining order or are being investigated for or charged with a crime, be sure you are represented by an attorney.
- Law enforcement continues to charge people criminally with virus-related charges. People who host large gatherings in violation of the Governor’s stay-at-home executive order continue to be charged with disorderly persons offenses, and now people who do not disperse from such gatherings promptly have been charged as well. People who claim to be infected with coronavirus who cough on others have been charged with assault, and when the victims of the conduct are law enforcement officers, the defendants have been charged with aggravated assault. If you have been charged with a criminal offense, be sure you are represented by an attorney.
- For more information, see our prior posts.
MUNICIPAL COURTS
- See our prior posts.