This legal brief summarizes a domestic violence case where a woman secretly recorded her partner in the kitchen discussing plans to harm her and tamper with her food. The woman seeks to introduce the recording as evidence against her partner to obtain a restraining order. However, the partner objects, claiming the recording violated wiretap laws. The brief must argue whether the recording should be admitted as evidence, following the specified sections and formatting for a legal brief.

1. Legal Assignment #4
, please write a trial level brief as the attorney for defendant
in support of your legal position as to why the tape of defendant
should NOT be admitted into evidence. In preparing your brief,
please note the following:
Following the template from njcourts also posted in
announcements last week and discussed at length in class, the
brief should contain the following sections , doubled spaced:
TABLE OF CONTENTS; 1 page
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT: 1 concise paragraph
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 1-2 pages
LEGAL ARGUMENT: At least 4 pages, with citations
CONCLUSION: 1 concise paragraph
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
For this assignment you do NOT need to do a cover page, table
of judgments/orders, table of appendix, or an appendix.
Plaintiff and defendant were longtime dating partners who lived
together in defendant's home. Also residing with the parties
were plaintiff’s two minor children from a prior marriage, A.B
(age 12) and C.D (age 8).
Over time, the parties' relationship soured and became
highly acrimonious. As of October 1, 2018, plaintiff was
planning to leave defendant and move out with her children to
a new home which she was purchasing for herself. A closing
date scheduled for early November, 2018, and plaintiff
continued living with defendant on a transitional basis pending
the closing.
On October 9, 2018, plaintiff filed a domestic violence
complaint requesting a temporary restraining order (TRO)
against defendant. She testified that on October 7, 2018,
defendant, in a fit of anger, kicked her in the leg and shin, and
kicked around her belongings as well. Plaintiff further
testified that defendant became verbally abusive by calling her

2. obscene names, threatening to harm her, and ordering her to
move out of the house without further delay.
Plaintiff then alleged that on the following day, October
8, 2018, she suspected that defendant had been intentionally
tampering with food which she had been making for herself
and her children. She testified that earlier the same week,
her children had both fallen ill with stomach cramps, while
one child incurring diarrhea that required him to stay home
from school. When plaintiff subsequently went to reheat the
leftover dinner she had made for the children the day before,
she noticed that the food now had a very watery consistency
and a strong pungent odor. Plaintiff threw out the food, but
became concerned that defendant, who had grown very hostile
towards her, had secretly contaminated the food in some
fashion.
As a result, on October 8th, plaintiff had again made
dinner for herself and her children. This time, however,
plaintiff put the food in pots in the refrigerator, hid a voice-
activated tape recorder in the kitchen near the refrigerator, and
then left the home with her children for approximately forty
five minutes, Meanwhile, defendant remained in the home with
his adult daughter from a prior relationship.
Within the hour, plaintiff returned to the home, retrieved
the recorder and listened to the "kitchen audiotape", which she
proffers captured the following:
1. a) defendant telling his daughter that he was going to find
out where plaintiff was moving, and then blow her house up;
2. b) defendant handling the pots of prepared food, clearing
his throat, and then spitting phlegm into the food multiple
times, followed by a discussion with his daughter about how
to make the tampering look less obvious.
3. c) defendant discussing with his daughter how he was
secretly rubbing his buttocks on the children's laundry, while
his daughter laughed.
After listening to the kitchen tape, plaintiff filed a
domestic violence complaint, seeking a restraining order

3. against defendant. Based upon her testimony, a judge granted
plaintiff a temporary restraining order (TRO), and scheduled the
case for a final hearing before the court, naming plaintiff and
her two children as additional protected persons under the
order.
At final hearing, plaintiff sought to play the kitchen tape
for the court and introduce the contents into evidence, as proof
of defendant’s abusive intentions and the necessity of a final
restraining order for her protection under the Domestic
Violence Act. In turn, defendant objected, alleging that
plaintiff's surreptitious taping of his comments and actions
violated his right of privacy under New Jersey's Wiretap
Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-1, et seq. Defendant contended that
under the Wiretap Act, the court was required to suppress the
kitchen tape and prohibit plaintiff from playing or otherwise
using its contents in the domestic violence proceedings.
Rubic_Print_FormatCourse CodeClass CodeAssignment
TitleTotal PointsPHI-413VPHI-413V-OL191Worldview
Analysis and Personal
Inventory100.0CriteriaPercentageUnsatisfactory (0.00%)Less
Than Satisfactory (65.00%)Satisfactory (75.00%)Good
(85.00%)Excellent (100.00%)CommentsPoints
EarnedContent90.0%Christian Perspective of Spirituality and
Ethics in Contrast to Postmodern Relativism30.0%Explanation
of the Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and
ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism is
incomplete or insufficient.Explanation of the Christian
perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to
the perspective of postmodern relativism is unclear. Explanation
is not supported by topic study materials.Explanation of the
Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in
contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism is clear.
Explanation is not supported by topic study
materials.Explanation of the Christian perspective of the nature

4. of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of
postmodern relativism is clear and detailed. Explanation is
supported by topic study materials.Explanation of the Christian
perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to
the perspective of postmodern relativism is clear, detailed, and
demonstrates a deep understanding of the subject. Explanation
is supported by topic study materials.Scientism and
Arguments30.0%Explanation of scientism or the explanations of
two main arguments against scientism are inaccurate. Details
are not supported.Description of scientism is accurate.
Explanations of two main arguments against scientism are
unclear. Details are not clearly supported by topic study
materials.Explanation of scientism is clear. Explanations of two
main arguments against scientism are clear. Details are
supported by topic study materials.Explanation of scientism is
clear and accurate. Explanations of two main arguments against
scientism are clear. Details are clearly supported by topic study
materials.Explanation of scientism is clear and accurate.
Explanations of two main arguments against scientism are clear
and insightful. Details are clearly supported by topic study
materials.Personal Perspective and Worldview30.0%Worldview
questions are not fully answered.Each of the worldview
questions is answered but is lacking a personal connection or
clarity.Each of the worldview questions is answered with
personal connection.Each of the worldview questions is
answered clearly and with personal connection.Each of the
worldview questions is answered clearly and with deep personal
insight.Organization, Effectiveness, and
Format10.0%Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling,
punctuation, grammar, language use)5.0%Surface errors are
pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning.
Inappropriate word choice or sentence construction is
used.Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the
reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) or word
choice are present. Sentence structure is correct but not
varied.Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but they are

5. not overly distracting to the reader. Correct and varied sentence
structure and audience-appropriate language are employed.Prose
is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be
present. The writer uses a variety of effective sentence
structures and figures of speech.Writer is clearly in command of
standard, written, academic English.Documentation of Sources
(citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as
appropriate to assignment and style)5.0%Sources are not
documented.Documentation of sources is inconsistent or
incorrect, as appropriate to assignment and style, with numerous
formatting errors.Sources are documented, as appropriate to
assignment and style, although some formatting errors may be
present.Sources are documented, as appropriate to assignment
and style, and format is mostly correct.Sources are completely
and correctly documented, as appropriate to assignment and
style, and format is free of error.Total Weightage100%