TRENTON (NJ)
The Times
Friday, December 02, 2005
By KRYSTAL KNAPP
Staff Writer
TRENTON - John Hardwicke goes to bed every night wondering whether the next morning will bring with it "the decision."
Whenever his phone rings, he picks up the receiver thinking maybe the caller is one of his lawyers bringing him the good or bad news.
It was a year ago this week that Hardwicke's lawyers argued his case against the American Boychoir School in front of the state Supreme Court.
But so far no decision has been announced, making Hardwicke v. the American Boychoir School the oldest case on which the court has yet to rule after hearing oral arguments, according to court records.
Hardwicke, 48, a former Boychoir student who alleges he was repeatedly molested at the school, has been fighting for the right to sue the school the past five years. ...
The New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC), the lobbying arm of the state's Catholic bishops, initially tried to kill the bill altogether.
But after seeing the overwhelming support in the Senate, the NJCC changed its position and urged lawmakers instead to set time limits on how far back the legislation would apply retroactively.
Under an NJCC proposal, the church and other nonprofit institutions would still be shielded from civil lawsuits for acts of child sex abuse committed by their employees before Sept. 24, 1992, the date New Jersey's Child Sex Abuse Act went into effect.