For the second time since November, the New Jersey Supreme Court has rendered a significant opinion balancing the constitutional rights of a defendant charged with crime and the rights of a victim of the alleged offense. In our editorial on State v Ramirez, decided on Nov. 21, 2022, we reviewed the court’s decision which developed a procedure a defendant has to follow in order to seek an interview with the victim of a sexual offense, and held that, under the balancing test developed therein, the victim had a right to be heard and make decisions in the process. See “Heed High Court’s Newest Balancing Test,” 229 N.J.L.J. 18 (Jan. 2, 2023).

On Jan. 23, in State v Chambers, the Supreme Court decided another important opinion balancing the rights of a criminal defendant with those of the alleged victim of sexual assault. In his first opinion for the court, Justice Douglas Fasciale established procedures by which a defendant seeking details concerning the victim’s mental health background can be obtained. The court emphasized the existence of victims’ rights under the New Jersey Constitution and implementing statutory protections, and the need to balance those with the defendants’ constitutional rights of confrontation, the right to a fair jury trial, the right to effective counsel and the right to due process, as well as the right to discovery under our court rules. The Supreme Court vacated, and remanded for reconsideration, a trial court’s order requiring “the State to obtain and produce, for an in camera inspection,” the mental health records of the victim for a period of six months before and after the alleged offense. Defendant sought to develop that the allegations were the result of fabrications caused by her mental health and affected her perceptions or recollection.

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