relatives in any way. The court may enter an order
prohibiting the defendant from possessing any firearm or
other weapon enumerated in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1r and
ordering the search for and seizure of any such weapon at
any location where the judge has reasonable cause to
believe the weapon is located. The judge shall state with
specificity the reasons for and scope of the search and
seizure authorized by the order. N.J.S.A. 2C:25-26a.
Also, a victim shall not be prohibited from applying
for, and a court shall not be prohibited from issuing,
temporary restraints pursuant to this act because the
victim has charged any person with commission of a
criminal act. N.J.S.A. 2C:25-26f.
2. Confidentiality of the Victim’s Location
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:25-26c., the victim’s
location shall remain confidential and shall not appear on
any documents or records to which the defendant has
access.
Under this statutory provision a female registrant,
who had to move because her ex-husband repeatedly
violated a permanent restraining order issued pursuant to
the Domestic Violence Act and who had sustained
permanent injuries, was entitled to register to vote
without making her address matter of public record.
D.C. v. Superintendent of Elections, 261 N.J. Super. 366
(Law Div. 1992).
3. Bail
N.J.S.A. 2C:25-26d mandates that the court
consider the defendant’s prior record before setting bail
and to conduct a search of the domestic violence central
registry.
As to the timing of bail, the statutory provision
provides that “bail shall be set as soon as is feasible, but
in all cases within 24 hours of arrest.” N.J.S.A. 2C:25-
26d.
Once bail is set it shall not be reduced without prior
notice to the county prosecutor and the victim. Bail shall
not be reduced by a judge other than the judge who
originally ordered bail, unless the reasons for the amount
of the original bail are available to the judge who reduces
the bail and are set forth in the record. N.J.S.A. 2C:25-
26e.
IV. OTHER RELATED ISSUES
A. Retroactivity
The amendment of Prevention of Domestic Violence
Act that expanded the class of potential plaintiffs eligible
for protection to include persons who have engaged in a
dating relationship with defendant substantially altered
the scope of the Act and thus only should be applied
prospectively. When, however, an act of domestic
violence arising out of a dating relationship has occurred
after the effective date of the amendment, the trial court
may consider the prior history of domestic violence
between the parties in determining the appropriate
injunctive or monetary remedy. D.C. v. F.R., 286 N.J.
Super. 589, 602-08 (App. Div. 1996); South v. North,
304 N.J. Super. 104, 108-09 (Ch. Div. 1997)
(amendment to Prevention of Domestic Violence Act
under which dating relationship between plaintiff and
defendant may qualify plaintiff as “victim of domestic
violence” is not applied retroactively).B. Confidentiality of Records Maintained Pursuant to the Domestic Violence Act
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:25-33, all records
maintained pursuant to the Domestic Violence Act shall
be confidential and shall not be made available to any
individual or institution except as otherwise provided by
law.- Constitutionality. The confidentiality provision
of N.J.S.A. 2C:25-33 is not absolute and therefore
constitutional and it does not deny the media access to
records implicitly guaranteed under First Amendment.
Pepe v. Pepe, 258 N.J. Super. 157, 164-66 (Ch. Div.
1992). - Records within the Scope of the Confidentiality
Provision. Confidentiality provision of the Domestic
Violence Act applied to judicial records kept on file with
the Clerk of Superior Court, and was not limited to
statistical records that were required to be maintained by
the Administrative Office of the Courts. Pepe v. Pepe, 258
N.J. Super. 157, 159-63 (Ch. Div. 1992).
C. Expungement of Domestic Violence Records
While a criminal charge and its related consequences
that arise from a domestic incident may be subject to
expungement, a domestic violence complaint arising
from the same incident, in which the victim seeks
restraints and other civil relief, is not. Thus, expunging