Catholic Abuse Probe Restart Bid Gets Warm Court Reception (1)

A stalled New Jersey state effort to investigate Catholic Church child abuse appears primed for a restart by justices inclined to let a special grand jury proceed.

Monday’s two-hour oral argument saw the majority of the court lean into how speculative courts can get when deciding whether to cut short special presentments—proceedings in which the New Jersey Attorney General calls in jurors to tackle issues of broad public policy.

Several New Jersey attorneys general have pushed to follow in the footsteps of Pennsylvania, which released a report in 2018 unearthing instances of abuse against 1,000 children. But the effort ...