Ho! Ho! Ho!

In State v. Aponte, defense counsel evidently wasn’t in the Christmas spirit. At trial, counsel complained that the victim’s advocate “looked like Santa Claus there.”Defense counsel objected to the bag of toys being placed at the child’s feet, but did not object to the Barney doll the witness was holding. The trial court refused defense counsel’s request to remove the bag of toys, stating that it was “not going to disturb the … arrangements … that have been made to allow a minor child of these tender years to testify in a court of law.”

Any lawyer knows that the best parts of any case are explained in the footnotes of opinions and State v. Aponte does not disappoint in this regard.

Read the footnote below the jump….

Justice Katz, in footnote 1 of the case explained Santa:  ”Also known as St. Nicholas, Santa Claus carries a bundle of toys as gifts to children. See generally C. Moore, The Night Before Christmas (Holiday House 1980 Ed.)”.

Specifically, despite statutes designed to facilitate divorce and separation for persons who choose to end their marriages, the statutory framework, considered in its entirety, seeks to promote and preserve marriage as an institution. 

I never really looked at it that way but Justice Katz is right. Very interesting.