FVVS does not select its clients. Clients come to FVVS either on their own or by referral from an individual or Tribal agency. The majority of referrals come to FVVS by way of police incident reports. FVVS receives all police incident reports involving domestic violence and sexual assault incidents. FVVS makes contact with the victims identified in the incident reports, assesses their needs and provides services as necessary or makes referrals for additional services that are not within the scope of FVVS’s services.
FVVS assist victims with:
Emergency protection orders are entered when a showing is made to the judge that the victim is in imminent danger of further abuse and there exists a substantial risk that the victim would be harmed before the hearing date. In issuing an emergency order the civil judges look at the seriousness of the most recent act of abuse as alleged by the victim, whether there are injuries or threat of serious bodily injury, how much time elapsed between the occurrence of the alleged abuse and the filing of the emergency petition for protection and whether the risk outweighs the prejudice to the defendant.
An emergency order is temporary and lasts only until a hearing can be held, usually within ten days of the filing of the petition. A hearing on a petition requesting protection is a cross between prosecuting a crime and litigating a divorce. The Court will only grant a protection order upon a showing by the Petitioner in the case that he or she has been abused and is still in danger from the perpetrator, therefore, the attorney must present evidence of the crime perpetrated upon the victim and persuade the Court that further harm is likely if an order for protection is not granted. A protection hearing is similar to a divorce hearing as well in that custody, child support, visitation, and division of property must be addressed. A court-approved consent agreement results when the parties settle the case prior to the hearing. Settlements generally occur on the day of court. A consent agreement carries the same weight as a protection order. The difference between the two orders is that an order of protection is entered following a hearing and a finding of abuse by the tribal court and a consent agreement is entered once the parties have agreed on the conditions contained in the agreement and the court approves the agreement. Both orders must be entered on the record and both require the signature of the judge. When a consent agreement is entered, there is no presentation of evidence to the court and no official finding of abuse.
The FVVS Program Attorney also assists victims with filing
motions including dismissals of pending petitions as well
as dismissals of protection orders previously entered by the Court.
Clients who request dismissals of petitions for protection or orders
of protection previously entered by the Court usually do so because
they have reconciled with the defendant. As a matter of program
policy, a client is required to wait ninety (90) days from the date
a protection order is entered on their behalf before FVVS will represent
them in a motion for dismissal. This policy was instituted because
of the time-consuming nature of preparing
a case for trial and then having to undo the process by
filing for a dismissal. Many hours are invested in each case by
the FVVS staff. The entire preparation process for getting a case
to court takes approximately eight hours if it is a standard case.
If the case is unusually complicated, it could take many more hours.
When a client is in need of an emergency protection order, it takes
the staff four to six hours to get it processed and out to the police
for service of the emergency order on the defendant.
In dealing with issues as sensitive as domestic violence/sexual assault, it is important that the client understand and want the restrictions that will be placed on the parties’ relationship by virtue of the entry of a protection order or consent agreement before beginning the lengthy process of getting a case to court. A great deal of time is invested with each client to insure that he or she understands the process and is aware of the options available. Legal action is not always the answer, although, most clients come into FVVS seeking a quick-fix which, in the client’s mind, tends to be a protection order. Statistics show that a victim returns to the abuser an average of six times before making the final break from the relationship. As such, it is not uncommon for FVVS to assist some clients many times before he or she either leaves the abusive relationship or the abuser takes steps to stop the abuse. FVVS never turns victims away simply because they have requested our assistance in the past. Once a victim obtains an order of protection or consent agreement, the program’s involvement with the victim does not necessarily end. If there are problems with issues such as visitation, getting property that the court has awarded, or dealing with the nonpayment of child support, FVVS assists the victim in resolving the problem.
If there is a civil violation of the order a contempt motion can be filed against the defendant.
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