Jersey’s Jaded Justice

Score this one as a victory for moms and dads. In New Jersey, that’s saying something. This week, 21yearold Caitlyn Ricci was back in court, trying to get a judge to force her parents to pay for her tuition at Temple University as he’d ordered — or hold her mom and dad in contempt if they didn’t.

Though Miss Ricci is legally an adult, under New Jersey’s ridiculous system her parents are required by law to pay for college, even though she is not living at home and refuses to abide by their rules. It gets worse: In New Jersey, this stupid standard applies only to parents who are divorced.

Caitlyn Ricci has taken full advantage of that. She now lives with her paternal grandparents, who are likewise estranged from their son. And this being the Wonderful World of Oz . . . er, Jersey . . . the judge had in fact already ordered Michael Ricci and Maura McGarvey to cough up $16,000 they say they can’t afford so their daughter can attend outofstate Temple University.

The hitch came when Michael Ricci made clear he wasn’t paying a nickel until his daughter showed some respect for her parents’ wishes. The good news is that Judge Donald Stein, who wrote the original order, has now refused to hold the parents in contempt for defying it. Instead, the case will go to an appeals court, and until that’s resolved, mom and dad won’t have to pay.

In the meantime, the New Jersey legislature is working on a law that would restore some parental rights — and common sense — to cases like this one. Let’s hope so. For whatever the rights and wrongs here, this is the kind of case that shouldn’t be before a court in the first place.