DRUG/CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN BERGEN (HACKENSACK), PASSAIC (PATERSON) AND MORRIS (MORRISTOWN) COUNTIES SUPREME COURT REVIEWS SCOPE OF RAPE SHIELD LAW IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE

A defendant convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl has asked the Supreme Court to test the boundaries of New Jersey's Rape Shield Law.  In that case, defendant dated a woman who was anonymously identified in the indictment as "Carol" under circumstances where defendant would care for Carol’s young daughter, while she worked nights. Sometime in 2001, the relationship between defendant and Carol ended.  In March 2003,  Carol discovered instant messages on her daughter's phone that were sexually charged.  In the discussion that followed, the daughter claimed that defendant had touched her inappropriately when she was nine years old. She also said that he exposed himself on a number of occasions.

During the trial, defendant sought to convince the trial judge to allow him to place into evidence IM transactions found on the victim’s phone that were sent to 16 separate men.  Defendants proffer to the trial court was that these IM's affected the victim’s credibility and her motive to make a false accusation.  In essence, defendant claimed that the girl was embarrassed by her mother's discovery that she was sending inappropriate IM’s and concocted a story to free herself of the embarrassment. Initially, the trial judge rejected defendant’s proffer and later reconsidered by allowing the defense to refer to seven of the IM transmissions; one of which related to the girl’s referral to masturbation.

The defendant was ultimately convicted.  That conviction was affirmed by the Appellate Division. Oral arguments were received by the Supreme Court in early November 2000.