Opinion ID: 2054452
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Citations and quotations omitted).

Text: In Pierson v. Pierson, 147 Misc.2d 209, 555 N.Y.S.2d 227 (N.Y.Fam.Ct.1990), the defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiff's petition in Family Court alleging assault and harassment on the ground that the New York court lacked jurisdiction. Id. at 227-28. The court rejected the defendant's motion, reasoning that where the defendant was personally served with legal process in New York the court had subject matter jurisdiction of the domestic abuse proceeding notwithstanding the fact that all the incidents occurred outside of New York. Id. at 227. In so holding, the court noted that nothing in [the jurisdictional statute] limits the jurisdiction of Family Court to in-state assaults or harassment.... Id. at 228. The court also recognized that the defendant's presence in New York continues the risk to [the plaintiff], and New York's interest in attempting to stop the violence, end the family disruption and obtain protection the purposes of [a domestic abuse] proceedingis compelling. Id. at 229 (quotations omitted). Federal law also addresses the question whether a domestic violence victim may obtain protection in a state other than that where the act of domestic violence occurred. 18 U.S.C.A. § 2261 to 2266. For example, 18 U.S.C.A. § 2265 provides that [a]ny protection order issued ... by the court of one State ... shall be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State....
We also consider the public policy implications of the issue raised by this appeal. Domestic violence is a serious problem in our society. Cesare, supra, 154 N.J. at 397, 713 A. 2d 390. Each year, three to four million women from all socio-economic classes, races, and religions, are battered by husbands, partners, and boyfriends. Id. at 398, 713 A. 2d 390. The Act and its legislative history confirm that New Jersey has a strong policy against domestic violence. Id. at 400, 713 A. 2d 390. Although New Jersey is in the forefront of states that have sought to curb domestic violence, Brennan v. Orban, 145 N.J. 282, 299, 678 A. 2d 667 (1996), New Jersey police reported 77,680 incidents of domestic violence in 2000 alone. New Jersey Dep't of Law and Public Safety Uniform Crime Rep. (2000). Domestic violence rarely consists of an isolated event and often occurs both within and outside the home. It is a `pattern of abusive and controlling behavior injurious to its victims.' Cesare, supra, 154 N.J. at 397, 713 A. 2d 390 (quoting Peranio v. Peranio, 280 N.J.Super. 47, 52, 654 A. 2d 495 (App.Div.1995)). Indeed, most female homicide victims are assaulted and killed in their own homes at the hands of male intimates. State v. Gartland, 149 N.J. 456, 468, 694 A. 2d 564 (1997) (quoting Marina Angel, Criminal Law and Women: Giving the Abused Woman Who Kills a Jury of Her Peers Who Appreciate Trifles, 33 Am. Crim. L.Rev. 229, 320 (1996)). Given those stark realities, one can appreciate the plight of domestic violence victims who must flee their homes to escape their abusers. However, once they have left their homes domestic violence victims are not out of danger and often must seek further shelter from abuse. Domestic violence victims who leave their abusers are justified in their continued fear because of the many cases of victims who are assaulted or killed by former partners. Hoffman, supra, 149 N.J. at 585, 695 A. 2d 236. Often victims are at greatest risk when they leave their abuser because the violence may escalate as the abuser attempts to prevent the victim's escape. Joan Zorza, Protecting the Children in Custody Disputes When One Parent Abuses the Other, Clearinghouse Review, Vol. 29, No. 12 (April 1996). Many victims of domestic violence are afraid to leave their partners because of the response that their leaving might provoke in the abuser. State v. Kelly, 97 N.J. 178, 195, 478 A. 2d 364 (1984). Once a domestic violence victim has successfully escaped, the victim faces the continued risk of stalking and further abuse. U.S. Dep't of Justice, Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women 10-11 (1998). This Court has recognized the numerous [c]ase histories [ ] replete with instances in which a battered wife left her husband only to have him pursue her and subject her to an even more brutal attack. Ibid. Indeed, [a]bused women are at the highest risk of being killed by their batterers during the time following separation. Jeanine Lewis, Comment, The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction: When Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Impact the Goal of Comity, 13 Transnat'l Law. 391, 398 (2000). [2]