S.S. v. E.S.
S.S. v. E.S.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff, mother of a boy born in July 1981, filed this action in 1989 for paternity adjudication and child support. After discovery, plaintiff moved to compel defendant to undergo Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) blood-testing to determine whether he was the father of her son. Pursuant to section 14 (N.J.S.A. 9:17-51) of the New Jersey Parentage Act, N.J.S.A. 9:17-38 to -59, the court ordered defendant to submit to the blood-testing. Defendant refused. The court then ordered that he be incarcerated. After granting leave to appeal, the Appellate Division reversed and remanded, one judge concurring in part and dissenting in part. 243 N.J.Super. 1, 15, 578 A.2d 381 (1990).
We affirm substantially for the reasons set forth in Judge Baime’s opinion for the majority below. Pointing to the compelling public concern for “ensuring and protecting the
We emphasize that the foregoing is not to suggest, however, that there may not be instances in which the verified complaint alone will suffice to establish the requisite “articulable suspicion” of a defendant’s parenthood. We share the concern of the dissenter below that the proceedings not be unduly burdened or protracted, 243 N.J.Super. at 15, 578 A.2d 381 (Shebell, J.A.D., concurring in part and dissenting in part), and we would urge, as we understand the majority below would likewise advocate, that the proceedings at the trial level in no wise be converted into a mini-trial. We are confident that our experienced trial judges will be sensitive to the need for a delicate balancing of a defendant’s privacy rights with the significant public interest in an expeditious determination of the
Judgment affirmed.
For affirmance — Chief Justice WILENTZ and Justices CLIFFORD, HANDLER, POLLOCK, O’HERN, GARIBALDI, and STEIN — 7.
Opposed — None.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- S.S., PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT v. E.S.
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- Published