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NJ & & CT News
NEW JERSEY
Mandatory Videotaping Urged for Interviews with Child Sex-Assault Victims
The New Jersey State Supreme Court has been asked in State v. P.S., A-21-09, to adopt a bright-line rule that says interviews with underage sexual assault victims are inadmissible unless electronically recorded. In the 15 years since the court declared videotaping a sound interviewing methodology, it has become routine and should be required where a minor and a sex crime are involved, argued Alison Perrone, the attorney for a man serving a 30-year sentence for sexual assault of his stepdaughter. Such a ruling would extend the doctrine of State v. Michaels, 136 N.J. 299 (1994), which reversed a preschool teacher's conviction on multiple sexual assault charges based entirely on closed-door investigatory interviews of the children allegedly abused.
No Need to Prove Stalker Had Bad Intent
New Jersey's Supreme Court held in State v. Gandhi, A-101-08, that even if a stalker's motives were purely romantic, prosecutors need not prove he intended to do his victim harm in order to support a conviction under the state's anti-stalking law. All that must be shown is that a reasonable person could believe that the stalker posed a danger that could lead to bodily harm or death. “The claimed innocent intention of one with an unrequited love interest in another does not permit an individual to stalk the other with impunity,” said Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, writing for the court.
Posthumus Adoption Granted Under New Four-Part Test
In In the Matter of W.R. and L.R. for the Adoption of S.W., FA-O6-08-10A, the Law Division, Cumberland County, granted the final legal adoption to both prospective adoptive parents, even though one of them had died just days before the hearing. The effective date of the filing of petition for adoption was designated the date of adoption, based on a four-part test crafted by the court for situations in which an adoptive parent dies before the final order is issued. The test for granting such an adoption nunc pro tunc is that sufficient evidence is presented to support findings that: 1) there was an agreement to adopt; 2) the nature of the relationship was that of a parent and child; 3) the intent of the deceased parent was to adopt; and 4) granting the adoption is in the best interests of the child. Here, the child had lived with the adoptive parents for three years in a family situation, the deceased prospective parent had been active in pushing the adoption proceedings along to completion and it would be in the child's best interests to recognize the bonds he had formed with both parents.
CONNECTICUT
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?