Court Opinion

ID: 9505071
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 20:01:01.273785+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:04:15.284252
License: Public Domain

SULLIVAN, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
We see on appeal many cases of child abuse in which the parents claim that they were only disciplining their children, that they reasonably believed that the force they used was necessary to control their children or prevent misconduct. By authorizing parents to impose as much force they believe is necessary unless the State proves beyond a reasonable doubt that either (1) the force used was unreasonable; or (2) the parents’ belief was unreasonable, the Court increases the quantum of effort that the State will be required to expend in its efforts to protect children from abuse. As such, the Court’s opinion constitutes a change in our State’s policy toward child abuse. Particularly given the commitment of time and resources that the legislative and executive branches have devoted to this subject for the last two decades and more, I believe that such a policy change should be made by the legislative and executive branches, not the judiciary.