State v. Palendrano

State v. Palendrano, 120 N.J. Super. 336, 293 A.2d 747 (Law Div. 1972), was a legal case decided by the New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, holding that the common law offense of being a common scold was no longer a crime despite the presence of reception statutes in the state.

State v. Palendrano
Court	New Jersey Superior Court
Full case name	State of New Jersey v. Marion Palendrano, Defendant.
Decided	July 13, 1972 (1972-07-13)
Citation	293 A.2d 747; 120 N.J. Super. 336
Case opinions
Decision by	McGann
Keywords
Sexism Vagueness doctrine Women's rights

Background

In 1970, Marion Palendrano was indicted in Monmouth County for assault, threatening a person's life, and being a scold.

Decision

The court reasoned that the offense was superseded by the New Jersey Disorderly Persons Act.^[1] They also expressed concerns that a female-only crime violated due process and the nature of the offense was too vague. It was also opined that the punishment of ducking could amount to a corpor(e)al punishment, in which case that punishment was unlawful under the New Jersey Constitution of 1844 or since 1776.

See also

• Commonwealth v. Donoghue, an earlier Kentucky case which upheld common law offenses in that state.