4: Domestic Violence and the Law

Carly Roberts, former YWCA Associate Board member, speaks with Hannah McLeod, Director of Legal Services at YWCA Pierce County and Judge Judy Jasprica, who presides over the Domestic Violence Court of the Pierce County District and is a member of Washington Women Lawyers. Our two guests represent the different sides of the law, criminal and civil, but in domestic violence they often intersect. Tune in to learn the complexities of domestic violence and the law, and what that means for survivors.

In this episode:

Criminal law - When there is a call to 911 to report a domestic violence disturbance, a police report is created regarding the incident, this report is then given to a Prosecutor who will decide if there is a criminal charge. Whenever possible the Prosecutor will try to contact the survivor to include them in the process.

Civil Law - Civil Law in relation to domestic violence deals with domestic violence protection orders, civil protection orders not connected to a criminal case, family law (divorce), legal separations, child support, parenting plans and maternity cases. Survivors can access these services through YWCA Pierce County’s Legal Services program.

Challenges - Survivors face numerous challenges when dealing with either civil or criminal court. The court is an adversarial system, which means survivors must personally appear in court and summon the other party to appear in court, and survivors must talk openly in court about the abuse they faced with their abuser in the room. On top of that, if a survivor is representing themselves in court they are held to the same standards and expectations that attorneys are, without having much knowledge of the law and those systems. Other challenges include financial obligations to move a case forward and scheduling conflicts.