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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/8/2007 1:42:24 PM Home School Legal Defense Association New Jersey--Fox News Airs New Jersey Judge's Homeschool Commentary |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== New Jersey--Fox News Airs New Jersey Judge's Homeschool Commentary Dear HSLDA members and friends: This morning at about 10 o'clock, Fox News broadcast a story about a family court judge in New Jersey who said he was "shocked" that homeschool families were not being "monitored," and said they should be. The anchorwoman and her guests gave the impression that the judge's opinion actually changed the law, and that now families would need to be monitored. In fact, the judge did not change the law. Nothing has changed. In order to protect individual freedoms, the founders of our nation wanted to be sure that governmental power did not become overly concentrated. To prevent this, they wisely split power into three branches--legislative, judicial and executive. As the founders conceived it, the judicial branch has no power to make new laws. That power belongs to the legislature working through representatives elected by the people. Even though the judge in this case said the homeschool laws of New Jersey should be different, it is not up to him to decide. The state of New Jersey already has laws on the books related to homeschooling, and this will only change if the people, through their elected representatives, enact a change. Furthermore, the judge's comments were "dicta"--legalese that means other judges are perfectly free to ignore the comments. Nothing the judge said in his written opinion is binding on any other judge or any other family. The Fox News story overlooked one more important point. The judge allowed the mother to keep homeschooling--without being monitored. Even though the father had asked the judge to prohibit the mother from continuing the homeschool program, the judge's final order simply urged the parents to work out the issue among themselves, with recommendations of steps they should take to make sure the homeschool laws already on the books were obeyed. We don't expect a judge from one state to be familiar with the laws of other states. However, the judge might not have been shocked if he had been aware of the fact that New Jersey's homeschool law is similar to that of many other states. Sincerely Yours, Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Who's knocking on your door? When a social service worker arrives at your door, tension can run high. Wouldn't it be nice to get your lawyer on the phone, providing you with immediate step-by-step guidance? 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