Jersey’s highest court has heard oral arguments on Kyleigh’s Law.

NJ Supreme Court Considers Kyleigh's Law
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The justices must now decide whether the law requiring new drivers to place red decals on their cars, to help police monitor their behavior, violates privacy laws.

Rockaway attorney Gregg Trautmann says the case is really about his daughter Catherine – and thousands of other young women “that are going to be out there driving alone at night, having to place a decal on their car – and make them potential victims for any creep or stalker that wants to do them harm.”

He says the law opens the door “to rapists, stalkers, people who are drunks that think it’s a target of opportunity- they can identify a woman as being between the ages of 17 and 21 – just because they have a sticker on their car and they can hunt them down and do them harm…I think what’s happened here, as with so many other laws named after people – is that they’re pushed through – this went through unanimously – but some Legislators say they now wish they could change their vote.”

Trautmann’s wife Donna says she’s concerned for her own daughter – and all other young women.

“Someone could be following” she says, “it’s just uncomfortable to me… I understand it’s supposed to be a vehicle for the police – and that’s what we’re told – but I don’t know I just feel there’s got to be other ways to protect the children.”

She says “one semester of drivers ed in school probably isn’t enough- 6 hours of a professional driver? Probably isn’t enough…my concern is that some guys are going to be out just joy-riding or waiting for her if she’s got a job somewhere in a parking lot…I know that has to be more done to protect the children, but I don’t know if this is the answer.”

The couple’s 16-year-old daughter Catherine says if she has to put a sticker on her car it’ll make her feel uncomfortable “because I would feel more like subject to being victimized by other people…if someone could be just like waiting around – oh there’s a red sticker on that car- let’s see who will come back to that car, and stuff like that…you’d always be worried that something could happen, even though – cause you never know what’s going to happen in your daily life.”

The court may take weeks – or months to reach a verdict in the case.


 

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