Bill Text: NJ A3770 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits enforcement of foreign law if enforcement would violate constitutional rights or conflict with federal or State law.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-16 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee [A3770 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A3770-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits enforcement of foreign law if enforcement would violate constitutional rights or conflict with federal or State law.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the application of foreign laws 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. As used in this act, "foreign law" means any law, rule, or legal code or system other than the Constitution, laws and ratified treaties of the United States and the territories of the United States, or the Constitution and laws of this State.
2. a. This act shall apply only to actual violations of the constitutional rights of a person or actual conflict with the laws of this State caused by the application of the foreign law.
b. This act shall not apply to a corporation, partnership, or other form of business association.
3. A court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other adjudicative, mediation, or enforcement authority shall not enforce a foreign law if doing so would violate a right guaranteed by the Constitution of this State or of the United States or conflict with the laws of the United States or of this State.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit the enforcement of a foreign law if doing so would violate a right guaranteed by the Constitution of this State or of the United States or conflict with federal or State law. The bill defines "foreign law" as any law, rule, or legal code or system other than the Constitution, laws and ratified treaties of the United States and the territories of the United States, or the Constitution and laws of this State.
The bill provides that it would apply only to actual violations of the constitutional rights of a person or actual conflict with the laws of this State caused by the application of the foreign law. The bill would not apply to a corporation, partnership, or other form of business association.
This bill is also intended to codify the Appellate Division decision in S.D. v. M.J.R., 415 N.J. Super. 417 (App. Div. 2010), which overturned a family court decision in a domestic violence case. The family court judge had refused to issue a restraining order to a woman who alleged that her husband had assaulted and raped her, ruling that the husband did not have the requisite criminal intent because of the precepts of his religion. The Appellate Division, in overturning the decision and remanding the case back to family court for entry of the restraining order, stated: "As the judge recognized, the case thus presents a conflict between the criminal law and religious precepts. In resolving this conflict, the judge determined to except defendant from the operation of the State's statutes as the result of his religious beliefs. In doing so, the judge was mistaken."
