New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act and New Jersey’s Survivors’ Justice Act both allow a court to reduce or reconsider a sentence where a survivor’s experience of abuse was a contributing factor to the offense. Establishing that connection calls for a forensic psychological evaluation that documents the abuse history, its psychological impact, and its relationship to the conduct at issue.

Under New York’s DVSJA, resentencing is possible where domestic violence significantly contributed to the examinee’s offense — a definition that, for these purposes, includes child maltreatment. New Jersey’s statute adds a new mitigating factor at sentencing: a court must weigh whether the defendant was a domestic violence victim as defined by state law, or was subjected to substantial physical, sexual, or psychological abuse that contributed to the conviction. Where the factor is established and accepted by the court, the resulting reduction in sentence can be significant.

Dr. Maddux is retained by New York and New Jersey attorneys in these matters. His evaluations examine the nature and history of the abuse, its developmental and psychological consequences, and how those factors bear on culpability and sentencing. Because the relevant abuse can include child maltreatment, his work co-developing national guidelines on the evaluation of child abuse directly informs his analysis.

Contact Dr. Maddux to discuss a Survivors Justice Act matter in New York or New Jersey.