State can seat grand jury to probe clergy sex abuse, New Jersey’s top court rules

by Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor
June 16, 2025

The New Jersey Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for the state to empanel a grand jury to investigate clergy sex abuse, ruling that lower courts wrongly sided with the Diocese of Camden in its years-long crusade to squash the state’s probe and prevent a presentment that didn’t even exist yet.

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, writing for a unanimous court, said no case law or court rule authorizes a judge to prohibit or evaluate a hypothetical or potential presentment.

“We cannot predict what a grand jury may find,” Rabner wrote. “Investigations evolve based on the testimony the grand jury hears and the evidence it uncovers. The subject matter and details of a grand jury investigation cannot be frozen in advance.”

For the same reason, suppressing a potential presentment is “simply premature,” Rabner added.

“Without a report to review, it is likewise too early for a judge to decide whether to strike parts of a presentment,” he added.

Grand juries “voice the conscience of the community” by investigating public harms and proposing reforms in a presentment, with judges empowered to release the grand jury’s report to the public — or strike whatever they deem objectionable or withhold the report altogether from public disclosure, the ruling notes.

But “the power to suppress should be used ‘sparingly,’” Rabner wrote, citing court precedent.

The jurist also rejected the diocese’s argument, which trial and appellate judges agreed with, that a grand jury probe would be a waste of time and resources, if a judge ultimately suppresses a presentment.

“That is not a relevant factor under the case law,” Rabner wrote.

First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsay V. Ruotolo celebrated the ruling.

“We are grateful for the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision this morning confirming what we have maintained throughout this lengthy court battle: that there was no basis to stop the State from pursuing a grand jury presentment on statewide sexual abuse by clergy and the conditions that allowed it to go unchecked for so long,” she said in a statement. “We remain as committed today as throughout these past seven years to doing all we can to support survivors and advance the healing they deserve.”

Grand jury proceedings are secret under court rules, so Ruotolo did not address how soon a grand jury might be empaneled. But a Pennsylvania grand jury that issued a presentment in 2018 on clergy abuse there spent two years investigating and coming up with its 887-page report.

In an unexpected move, the diocese gave up its court fight last month — two months after a new bishop took over.

Michael J. Walsh, a diocesan spokesman, said Monday that the diocese will cooperate with whatever state investigation occurs.

“The Diocese of Camden remains steadfast in its commitment to transparency, justice, and healing for survivors of clergy abuse,” Walsh said in a statement. “To the victims and all those impacted by abuse, we reaffirm our sorrow, our support, and our unwavering resolve to do what is right, now and always.”

In a May statement to parishioners, Bishop Joseph A. Williams explained the diocese’s legal surrender this way: “There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ in this difficult reckoning of our recent history. Survivors are baptized — and hurting — members of Christ’s body who need a Good Samaritan Church at their side.”

Mark Crawford heads the New Jersey chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. He said he was elated by the ruling, which he noted would ensure needed scrutiny of both the Catholic church and other institutions.

“For years the church hid — went out of their way to hide — crimes that were committed against children. It’s been six-plus years, and I’m glad that the victims will finally have the ability to tell their stories before a grand jury and let them determine the level of accountability, where that fault lies,” Crawford said. “And the public has every right to know, because this institution — and any other, not just the church — that deals with the public should not be above the law or free from public accountability.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com.