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Bill would shield records of domestic violence victims
Stow Sentry, May 23, 2010
Columbus -- The Ohio Senate began deliberations on legislation that would shield addresses of some domestic violence victims from public records. House Bill 391, sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent), had its first hearing before the State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee May 18. It passed the Ohio House in April, ... More
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Plot for Child Custody Ends in Murder
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 19, 2009
Kimberly Smith was murdered in her Oconomowoc home Oct. 1 as part of a plot for her ex-boyfriend to get custody of their 4-year-old son, authorities said Thursday in announcing the arrests of the ex-boyfriend and two other men on homicide charges. Smith was entangled in a long running custody dispute with the boy's father.
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Rape treatment plan facing big budget cut
The Boston Globe, November 5, 2009
The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program (SANE) championed by advocates as the most sensitive and effective way to treat victims of rape and sexual abuse, is taking a 40 percent hit from the state budget ax, one of a series of cuts Governor Deval Patrick announced last week to close a $600 million budget shortfall. More
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High Costs Of Family Court
San Diego News 10, October 29, 2009
The I-Team found one example out of Northern California in which an 11-year-old boy, Coby, was the center of a custody dispute. His mother was ordered to pay $2,200 upfront to a custody evaluator. In the ruling, the judge wrote, "If mother does not pay the fees ... primary custody shall be changed." More
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Sex-with-animals cases surface in 3 TN counties
The Tennessean, November 29, 2009
Two years ago, the Tennessee legislature put into statute what most people assumed should go without saying — it is illegal to have sex with animals. But prosecutors across Middle Tennessee have had three bestiality cases. The connection between animal abuse and human abuse is notable. One study found that 96 percent of juveniles who engaged in sexual abuse of animals also admitted to sex offenses against humans. In another study, some 37 percent of sexually violent juvenile offenders were found to have a history of animal sexual assault. An FBI study found that serial killers have a high rate of animal sexual abuse as well. More
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CA Law: Right to Attorney for Civil Litigation
Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2009
Governor Schwarzenegger signed a new law, the first in the nation, to recognize a right to representation in key civil cases and provide it for people fighting eviction, loss of child custody, domestic abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled. More
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Mother Sought help from Family Court; Now She's Dead
The Arizona Republic, October 20, 2009
Two weeks before she was killed, Dawn Axsom pleaded with Judge Jose Padilla of Maricopa County Superior Court to let her leave Arizona with her son because she feared Gabriel Schwartz, the toddler's father, would harm her or their boy. More
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Child abuse: when family courts get it wrong
Christian Science Monitor, October 14, 2009
Even when physical or sexual abuse of children is alleged during a divorce, American family courts routinely award custody to the parent with an established record of domestic violence restraining orders, child abuse, neglect, alcoholism, addiction, dangerous mental illness, while the protective parent is labeled an alienator for bringing the abuse to the court's attention. More
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Scholar's past adds intrigue to student loan fraud trial
Anchorage Daily News, April 14, 2009
According to the indictment Yould used a second identity to apply for subsidized student loans, even though she had reached her lifetime limit. She then used some of that money to start a business and boost her investment portfolio, it says. But Yould's friends and family say she created the second identity with government approval to hide from a stalker. More
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Judge Susan Carbon Picked to Head Office on Violence Against Women
Boston Globe, October 2, 2009
A top judge of New Hampshire's family court is going to Washington for a new job.
President Obama annnounced this evening he is nominating Susan B. Carbon as director of the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice. More
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Economy causing abused to remain in violent situations
KRNV TV News, September 30, 2009
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and local experts say they're overwhelmed with calls from people seeking help in violent situations. But they also say fewer people are actually leaving their violent homes, and they blame the economy. More
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HI: Residents protest family court
The Garden Island, September 14, 2009
A protest against Family Court attracted attention of well-wishers who honked their horns at sign-holders most of Thursday morning. The purpose of the rallies is to inform the community that the Kaua‘i Family Court and its court-appointed experts are not doing enough to protect children from abuse and domestic violence More
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Mom who fled Iowa, ex-spouse, risks jail on return
Des Moines Register, September 24, 2009
A Decatur County woman who said she fled the state fearing for her life and that of her 7-year-old son is being required to return or risk being arrested. Ringgold County Attorney Clint Spurrier has thus far rejected pleas from advocates of domestic-violence victims to drop a criminal complaint against Hannah Newberry for violating the visitatio... More
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California GOP legislators blocked 20 bills after demands were unmet
Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2009
A plan to keep dozens of domestic-violence shelters from closing sailed out of the state Assembly late Friday night with nary a no vote. Yet hours later, the bill lay in the legislative trash heap, one of many lost to politics as lawmakers reached the deadline for completing their work this year. Republicans in the Senate blocked more than 20 ... More
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CA: Six Domestic Violence Shelters Close
Associated Press, September 8, 2009
Six domestic violence shelters in California have been forced to close while dozens more are scaling back services after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated all state funding for the program that supports them. A bill would restore the funding but it needs to be moved for a vote in the Assembly and the Senate before week's end. More
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Baby's father, charged with murder, upset by relocation plan
Post Tribune, August 29, 2009
Distraught because his 19-month-old daughter might move with her mother to Texas, Cordell Richardson took the girl and, according to police, said "nobody was going to take his daughter away" before shooting and killing her.
Richardson, 22, is charged with murder in the death of the girl, Eboni Richardson. Police said he shot the toddler in the chest and then shot himself in the head. More
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Child Poverty Rising, Report Says
Washington Post, July 11, 2009
A growing number of American children are living in poverty and with unemployed parents, and are facing the threat of hunger, according to a federal report. 18% of all children 17 and younger were living in poverty in 2007, up from 17% in 2006. The percentage of children with at least one parent working full time was 77% in 2007, down from 78% in 2006. More
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New Policy Permits Asylum for Battered Women
The New York Times, July 15, 2009
The Obama administration has opened the way for foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse to receive asylum in the United States. The action reverses a Bush administration stance in a protracted and passionate legal battle over the possibilities for battered women to become refugees.
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Educating dads may help protect babies from abuse
USA TODAY, July 27, 2009
More than 2,400 children under 2 were murdered in the USA from 2001 to 2005, almost twice the number killed in car accidents, the study says. Children this age account for about half of all homicides of children under 14. The murder rate for babies this age — 6 per 100,000 children — is 10 times higher than the rate for children 7 to 8 years old, and even higher than the rate for 15- and 16-year-olds, the study says. More
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Family of Man Who Killed Wife, Self, Gets Custody
Centre Daily, June 11, 2009
Williamsport Judge Richard A. Gray has decided to give primary physical custody of the child who lost both parents in the Easter 2007 murder- suicide to the father's family in Williamsport. Ben Barone shot and killed his wife Jodi Barone during a planned custody exchange of their daughter April 8, 2007. Jodi's mother had been fighting for custody. More
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Man kills wife, now wants to control custody of children from jail
The Valley Independent (Pittsburgh, PA), August 12, 2009
A Fayette County man accused of running over over his wife with his car and killing her wants his parents to have legal custody of two of his children. In addition, he wants the cousins of a third adopted child to have custody of that youngster. More
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Man Accused of Shooting and Killing Wife Asks for Children to be Moved to Safer Home
KSBY 6 News, August 19, 2009
A family torn apart after a fatal shooting is now in a heated fight over where to place the victim's children.On July 9, 24-year-old Tasha Norris was fatally shot. Her husband, John Norris, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Despite that, his wishes for who will have custody of his children are being considered by child services. More
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Judge Dismisses Abuse Allegations
Des Moines Register, August 20, 2009
An Iowa judge dismissed abuse allegations made by a 6-year-old girl who called 911 while in her father's care in Council Bluffs, paving the way for the girl to return home to her mother from an emergency shelter. The judge did so on the recommendation of a child-protective worker who found the case lacked sufficient evidence to move forward. More
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Schwarzenegger cuts $500 million more as he signs budget
Los Angeles Times, August 28, 2009
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed a budget plan sent to him by lawmakers to close the state's monumental deficit, using his veto pen to impose nearly $500 million in additional cuts. The new reductions will affect child welfare and children's healthcare, the elderly, state parks, AIDS treatment and prevention, and domestic violence programs. More
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CA: One Local Shelter Likely to Close
LAist, July 30, 2009
The Domestic Violence Center in the Santa Clarita Valley is the only agency that provides domestic violence services in the 200-square mile valley. As a result of Schwarzenegger's cut, which is immediate, they've lost 45%, or $207,222.00, of their annual funding, which they say will force them to close their doors later this year unless the community supports them with donations. In 2008, they served over 1,000 victims of domestic violence.
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