Bill Text: NJ S1751 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates a civil "rape shield" law for certain civil suits.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-17 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee [S1751 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S1751-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DIANE B. ALLEN
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Creates a civil "rape shield" law for certain civil suits.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain evidence in civil matters alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In a civil action alleging conduct which would constitute sexual assault or sexual harassment:
a. A party seeking discovery of information concerning the victim-plaintiff's sexual conduct with persons other than the defendant shall establish specific facts showing good cause for that discovery, and that the information sought is relevant to the subject matter of the action and reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
b. (1) Evidence of the victim's previous sexual conduct shall not be admitted nor reference made to it in the presence of a jury except as provided in this section. When the defendant seeks to admit such evidence for any purpose, the defendant must apply for an order of the court before the trial or preliminary hearing, except that the court may allow the motion to be made during the trial if the court determines that the evidence is newly discovered and could not have been obtained earlier through the exercise of due diligence. After the application is made, the court shall conduct a hearing in camera to determine the admissibility of the evidence. If the court finds that evidence offered by the defendant regarding the sexual conduct of the victim is relevant and that the probative value of the evidence offered is not outweighed by its collateral nature or by the probability that its admission will create undue prejudice, confusion of the issues, or unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the victim, the court shall enter an order setting forth with specificity what evidence may be introduced and the nature of the questions which shall be permitted, and the reasons why the court finds that such evidence satisfies the standards contained in this section. The defendant may then offer evidence under the order of the court.
(2) In the absence of clear and convincing proof to the contrary, evidence of the victim's sexual conduct occurring more than one year before the date of the alleged act that is the basis of the civil action is presumed to be inadmissible under this section.
For the purposes of this section, "sexual conduct" shall mean any conduct or behavior relating to sexual activities of the victim, including but not limited to previous or subsequent experience of sexual penetration or sexual contact, use of contraceptives, living arrangement and life style.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would create a "rape shield" statute to generally shield as inadmissible evidence of victims' previous sexual conduct in civil actions brought by victims alleging harm from acts that may constitute sexual assault or sexual harassment. "Sexual conduct" is described under the bill as "any conduct or behavior relating to sexual activities of the victim, including but not limited to previous or subsequent experience of sexual penetration or sexual contact, use of contraceptives, living arrangement and life style."
Under the bill, a party seeking discovery of information concerning the victim-plaintiff's sexual conduct with persons other than the defendant would be required to establish specific facts showing good cause for that discovery, and that the information sought is relevant to the subject matter of the action and reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. As to any older instances of sexual conduct, the bill provides that in the absence of clear and convincing proof to the contrary, evidence of sexual conduct occurring more than one year before the date of the alleged act that is the basis of the civil action would be presumed to be inadmissible.
If the defendant sought to admit evidence of previous sexual conduct, the defendant would be required to apply for an order of the court before the trial or preliminary hearing, except that the court could allow the motion to be made during the trial if the court determined that the evidence is newly discovered and could not have been obtained earlier through the exercise of due diligence. After the defendant's application was made, the court would conduct a hearing in camera to determine the admissibility of the evidence.
If the court found that evidence offered by the defendant regarding the sexual conduct of the victim was relevant, and that the probative value of the evidence offered was not outweighed by its collateral nature or by the probability that its admission would create undue prejudice, confusion of the issues, or unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the victim, the court would enter an order: (1) setting forth with specificity what evidence may be introduced; (2) the nature of the questions permitted regarding the evidence; and (3) the reasons why the court found that such evidence satisfies the standards of admissibility.
The bill is similar to the "rape shield" provisions established under existing law for civil actions brought by victims of child sexual abuse. See P.L.1992, c.109, s.1 (C.2A:61B-1).
