ABA Journal

Domestic & Sexual Violence

37 ABA Journal Domestic & Sexual Violence articles.

Fill the ‘Justice Gap’: Victims of domestic violence need your pro bono legal help

I’ll never forget sitting in professor Sarah Buel’s Domestic Violence and the Law class at the University of Texas School of Law, as she shared her iconic article: Fifty Obstacles to Leaving, a.k.a., Why Abuse Victims Stay.

Colorado bill limits ‘reunification treatment’ in child custody cases, requires training and expertise

Family courts in Colorado custody cases can’t cut off a child’s contact with a protective parent to whom they are bonded just to improve a relationship with a rejected parent accused of abuse or domestic violence, according to a bill signed into law last week.

ABE’s annual grant program sends $300K to 12 innovative projects

Low-income clients overburdened by debt, transgender and nonbinary people who need help changing their names, and youths experiencing homelessness are among the groups supported this year by the American Bar Endowment’s Opportunity Grant Program.

Lawyer-turned-playwright celebrates Broadway debut with powerful legal drama

Prima Facie is a new one-woman play on Broadway, centered on an ambitious lawyer who, after building her reputation representing men accused of rape, must navigate the same legal system to seek justice for herself after her sexual assault.

Attorneys nationwide prepare for Law Day celebrations

Kari Burns describes promoting the rule of law as “near and dear” to her heart. That’s why Burns gets involved in Law Day, which is annually May 1 to recognize the rule of law in our society and encourage a greater understanding of the legal profession.

Federal judge rejects Trump’s quid-pro-quo DNA offer in suit by rape accuser

A federal judge in Manhattan, New York City, has ruled against former President Donald Trump after he belatedly offered to provide a DNA sample in a suit filed by a woman who accused him of sexual assault, in exchange for missing pages of a forensic analysis of the dress that his accuser says she wore on the day in question.

Heat-of-passion defense no longer available in slayings after infidelity disclosure, top state court says

The top court in Massachusetts has ruled that a murder defendant who kills a partner after being told of infidelity can’t use a heat-of-passion defense to lower the charge to voluntary manslaughter.

Lawyers for Trump and rape accuser square off over DNA offer

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump and a woman who accused him of sexual assault are fighting over his offer to provide a DNA sample in exchange for missing pages of a forensic analysis of the dress that she claims to have worn on the day in question.

5th Circuit looks to history and strikes down law banning gun possession by subjects of civil protective orders

A federal appeals court has struck down a ban on gun possession by people subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, citing the historical approach required by the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest Second Amendment precedent.

Judge discusses negotiating trauma and the law as chief tribal court judge of Yurok Nation

Judge Abby Abinanti was the first tribal woman to be admitted to the State Bar of California. For almost two decades, she served as a judicial officer for the San Francisco Superior Court, and Abinanti has been a Yurok tribal court judge since 1997.

UChicago Medicine partners with legal aid lawyers to offer legal help to victims of violence

The University of Chicago Medicine is working with Legal Aid Chicago to embed lawyers at the system’s trauma center in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood to help victims of violence.

Self-defense law doesn’t protect officer who shot at charging dog and injured child, top state court rules

A Kansas law allowing the use of deadly force against an aggressor does not protect people defending themselves who act recklessly and harm a bystander, the state’s top court has ruled.

After collaborating with bestselling author, judge discusses new solo book

After several collaborations with bestselling author James Patterson, Judge David Ellis of Illinois, a prolific novelist, decided to go it alone for his latest book, Look Closer.

Traci Feit Love continues to deliver pro bono services while negotiating through the trauma and injustices she witnesses

Lawyers have been organizing in large numbers during the last six years to offer pro bono legal services to immigrants, racial minorities and small businesses affected by COVID-19. The new post-Roe landscape is no different.

How to negotiate trauma during a lifetime of advocacy for domestic violence survivors

Anyone who’s studied domestic violence law is likely familiar with the woman who pioneered its study in law schools, wrote the textbook Domestic Violence Law and regularly testifies as a domestic violence expert witness. In a practice area most attorneys agree is emotionally draining and personally trying, Nancy K.D. Lemon has shown four decades of staying power.

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