They All Deserve One Another

Some people just don't interact well with one another. Some people have relationships even more contentious than the one between me and my mother-in-law (which is very, very highly contentious). And then, there are those whose super-contentious relationships place one or more parties in physical danger.

The law has a mechanism, sometimes but not 100% of the time effective, for protecting those in physical danger from contentious interpersonal relationships. It is called an Order of Protection.

The typical Order of Protection is issued by a court with jurisdiction over criminal matters, and stigmatizes the respondent accordingly. But in New York, the Family Court can, within the confines of its limited jurisdiction, issue Orders of Protection for those in "intimate" relationships that have grown contentious. Family Court OPs do not carry quite the same stigma as ones issued by criminal courts (provided that they are adhered to). After all, most people can understand, if not justify, intimate relationships going askew and boiling over.

Recently, the New York State Legislature expanded the Family Court's jurisdiction to issue OPs. An OP can issue to someone who is not a family member, but who has an intimate relationship with the protectee. This removed much reluctance on the part of abused people in boyfriend/girlfriend relationships to stigmatize their significant other with a criminal court OP, and has, no doubt, saved many a woman (and probably a few milquetoast males) from a battering.

Jessica's complex situation involves various contentious relationships. When Jessica "grows weary of her husband, which seems to occur with some frequency, she rekindles her relationship with [Jeremy]. Eventually, she either tires of him or finds renewed interest in [Jeremy] (or both) and a new cycle begins."

After a 10-day stint with Jeremy, culminating in Jeremy's threat to shoot Jessica and her husband, Jessica came to the Madison County Family Court for an OP. Judge McDermott found that Jessica's relationship with Jeremy was "intimate" enough to fall within the scope of the revised Family Court Act, but declined to issue an OP for " public policy" reasons, namely, the law's interest in preserving the marital relationship. Judge McDermott told Jessica that she was free to obtain the OP in criminal court.

Jessica's attorney appealed. On appeal, the Appellate Division, 3rd Department called Judge McDermott to Captain's Mast for declining to issue the OP.

It is tempting to say that Jessica deserves whatever she gets. It is difficult to sympathize with Jessica's shmendrick of a husband for tolerating Jessica's modus operandi. And Jeremy isn't anything to write home about either, at least until he completes some anger management courses (and the simplest way for him to manage his anger would be to find someone better than Jessica to be intimate with).

But the law would lose the popular respect it now commands if it did nothing to prevent violence.

This case is a "damned if they do and damned if they don't" situation for advocates against domestic violence, for the sanctity of marriage, and for the rule of law.

Meanwhile, Jessica will remain in the driver's seat unless and until the two poor excuses for men in her life get up on their hind legs and say, "Enough!"

A Session for Confession

The 15 July 2009 posting regarding the Spinka scandal and the Agudath Israel stated:


"The Agudath Israel needs to take corrective discipline with its misbehaving bratty children, instead of trying to convince the principal to not suspend the kids each time they misbehave. It should position itself as a proponent of compliance with tax laws instead of as a cover-upper of tax cheats, and as a proponent of zero tolerance for sexual abusers instead of a cover-upper of sexual abuse. This will take some practical leadership."


Perhaps the Agudath Israel is coming through. In a hurried response to the mass arrests in New Jersey (which only exacerbate the AI's increasingly embarassing public image), the AI convened a hastily-planned symposium (for men only, but that's a whole separate issue). The speakers at the symposium included none other than Naftali Tzvi Weisz, the Grand Rabbi of Spinka, who spoke some very contrite words. The speakers also included high-profile criminal defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, who said many of the things I have been saying for years. The videos of the event are very, very interesting, and can be viewed here if you have the time and inclination.


My take on it:

(A) Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel recently assumed the post of Executive Vice President of the Agudath Israel of America. He is a lawyer, and understands many of the legal nuances involved far better than mere rabbis.

(B) The Spinka Rebbe, having signed the tentative plea agreement, now has to do all sorts of contritional acts. Moreover, the plea agreement is a "package deal" contingent upon, inter alia, "a case disposition agreement executed by representatives of Spinka and all of its constituent organizations." The Rebbe's reference in his discourse to various watchdog-type committees is probably a reference to the terms and conditions of such case disposition agreements.

(C) In one of the videos, (approx. 2:00), Ben Brafman tells a semi-humorous story wherein he attended a minyan (English translation: A group of at least 10 Jewish men convened for prayer service) to say Kaddish for his father, and the guy selected to lead was his former client. Understand that Ben Brafman's clients are all criminal defendants. This, no doubt, made many of the AI hierarchy people in attendance wince.

(D) This symposium would have been unimaginable a year ago. But now, AA seems to be moving rapidly out of denial mode and is confronting problems which, only a short while ago, it would never admit existed. With the Jersey arrests making the headlines, the AI hierarchy now is beginning to realize that it can no longer go about delivering the morality lecture when so many members of so many of its affiliated groups are not behaving in a moral manner. Expect more events and missives with the new "obey the laws" message!

(E) Personal sentiment: It would not surprise me in the least if, within the next few months or years, the Agudath Israel of America erects a website. I leave it to those in the pari-mutuel profession to assign particular odds to particular time frames.

Limits on Protekzia for the Kennedys

Without in any way negating my significant political differences with Sen. Ted Kennedy, I wish him and his family the best of luck in what is, in all likelihood, the beginning of a prolonged and painful struggle with his disease. I take no glee whatsoever in learning of his medical condition. All indications are that he and his family will confront his condition with dignity.

My main gripe about the Kennedy family is that they, too often, get away with infractions which would cause significant legal problems almost for anyone else. But while they can smugly disobey many laws with impunity, the Senator's almost certain struggle will demonstrate, once again, that even Kennedy family members cannot violate the laws of physics, chemistry or biology.

The laws which Teddy got away with violating at Chappaquidick, and which William Kennedy Smith got away with violating in Palm Beach, and which Patrick Kennedy got away with violating while driving drunk one night in Washington -- these are all laws legislated by human beings. But the laws of nature relating to the acceleration of projectiles, the buoyancy of automobiles, aerodynamics, and the toxicity of various chemical compounds are G-d's laws. Not even the Kennedys can get away with violating these!

That being said, my hopes and prayers are with the Senator and his family during these difficult times.