APPEARANCE BY BOTH PARTIES NJ

APPEARANCE BY BOTH PARTIES NJ

4.10.1 When both parties appear for a Final Hearing, the victim and defendant should be kept in different locations and directed to the appropriate intake or waiting area for

4.9.8

4.9.9

Nonappearance by the Defendant: If only the plaintiff appears, the plaintiff’s request for relief should be identified in accordance with the domestic violence procedures.

A. Where the defendant does not appear at the final hearing, and proof of service has been provided, the court should proceed with the final hearing and may enter a final order in default.

B. If the court file does not contain proof of service, the court should conduct a hearing in the presence of the plaintiff to determine the following:

 Whether the plaintiff has seen the defendant in the court house or knows of the defendant’s whereabouts;

 Whether the plaintiff is aware of whether the defendant was served and the basis for such knowledge;

 Whether the defendant has had any contact with the plaintiff since execution of the temporary restraining order; and

 Whether the same or different conditions exist in comparison to those at the time of the initial hearing.

C. If the court determines that the defendant had actual knowledge of the restraining order and hearing date, after making such finding on the record, the court may proceed with the final hearing and may enter a final order by default.

Defendant Not Served: If the court determines that the defendant has not been served but finds there is reasonable likelihood of service on the defendant within a reasonable amount of time (e.g. the defendant’s whereabouts are known, but the defendant is on vacation), a short postponement shall be granted and a date certain scheduled, which shall be memorialized in a Continuance Order (See Appendix 9) or Amended TRO. The Continuance Order shall be served on the defendant with the Complaint/TRO.

In the event that it is unlikely the defendant can be served within a reasonable period of time, then the court can issue an indefinite TRO. This TRO shall continue the reliefs requested by the plaintiff until further order of the court and contain a provision that a final hearing shall be rescheduled upon service on the defendant. The case will be recorded as disposed of in FACTS with the case status reason code of “extended TRO.”

IV - 114.10.2

4.10.3 4.10.4

4.10.5

4.10.6

case processing by the domestic violence unit. Separate waiting areas must be available for victims to avoid potential contact, intimidation, or additional violence or victimization.

Information Gathering

A. A domestic violence staff person should meet with each party, separately, prior to court to review identifying information and to determine if the case is likely to be a contested trial or a dismissal. The domestic violence staff person should review with the plaintiff what relief is being sought and explain the procedure to be followed in a trial, including the right to call witnesses and present evidence. In addition, a victim advocate should be available to confer with the plaintiff before the court session.

B. Court staff shall not meet with the parties together or conduct mediation of any sort on any issue, such as custody or parenting time, per N.J.S.A. 2C:25- 29a(6) and Rule 1:40-5(a).

C. If support is being sought as a relief, staff should ensure that both parties have completed the required forms with complete identifying and financial information. Staff support should be provided to the judge to calculate Child Support Guidelines.

D. Counsel for the parties may participate in the staff held meetings. No party shall be required to meet with opposing counsel without his/her clear, express consent.

No Mediation. There shall be no mediation of any kind in domestic violence cases.

Request for Continuance. The court may grant an adjournment or continuance if either party requests an adjournment for the purpose of obtaining or consulting with an attorney, securing witnesses, or other good cause, unless the delay would create an extreme hardship on the other party, or there has been an inordinate delay in seeking counsel.

Court Files. At the time of the Final Hearing, the court’s file should contain the Complaint/TRO; the Victim Information Sheet; FACTS history of the parties and children; and prior domestic violence history, if any; and relevant financial, social and criminal record history.

Confidentiality. All records maintained pursuant to the PDVA are confidential as specified by N.J.S.A. 2C:25-33. However, all court proceedings under the Act are open unless closed by the court in accordance with the Rules.