CIVIL PENALTY in dv cases
4.15.1 Upon the finding of an act of
domestic violence and the entry of a FRO, the court is
required to assess a civil penalty of
$50.00 to $500.00 against the defendant under
N.J.S.A. 2C:25-29.1. This fee may be
waived due to “extreme financial hardship.”
Such a finding must be made on the record.
The court may order the payment to be
made immediately, within 30 days, or
within some other specific period of time. All
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orders must also include a provision for
the payment of a $2.00 Comprehensive
Adult Probation System (CAPS) transaction
fee for each payment. For example, if
one payment of $50 is ordered, a $2
transaction fee is assessed, for a total of $52. If
a penalty of $500 is ordered to be paid in
five installments of $100 each, a $2
transaction fee must be added to each
payment, for a fee of $10 (five payments, $2
each) and a total penalty of $510. There
is no provision for a refund of the penalty or
the transaction fee after dismissal of a
FRO.
See section 6.4.8 regarding the Surcharge
for domestic violence offender
to fund grants pursuant to N.J.S.A.
2C:25-29.4. This surcharge is in addition to
other penalties, fines and/or charges
imposed pursuant to law.
4.15.2 Each county should prepare a set of
specific instructions to defendants setting out the
location and address of the Finance Office
where the payments are to be made. The
defendant should be provided with these
instructions and directed to that office to
make payments pursuant to the court’s
order. If the defendant does not appear at the
final hearing, payment instructions shall
be served on the defendant along with the
FRO. The Family Division should send a
copy of the order to the appropriate finance
office to enter into the CAPS system.
4.15.3 When the penalty is not paid in
accordance with the Court’s order, the
Comprehensive Enforcement Program (CEP) in
the Probation Division will serve as
the enforcement mechanism. These cases
will be included in the normal CEP
process.
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