Court Fees

Everyone has equal access to the courts, that is, IF you have money.  I have often been troubled by the fact that many hesitate to use the legal system because they can't afford all the fees and costs associated with it.

For example, imagine a mother who has some concerns about the safety of her children while they have placement with their father.  Maybe the children are returning with bruises.  Maybe the children return starving and dirty.  Maybe the mother has recently learned that the father has been seen doing drugs while his children are there.  The mother may report these things to the police and/or child protective services.  But what if this isn't quite enough for child protective services to step in and do something?

In Washington County, before even being allowed to file a motion to modify placement, the mother would have to request mediation (which has a fee).  After mediation fails, she would be able to file a motion (which has fees) and before even having a hearing the court almost always appoints a guardian ad litem (which requires a $1000 deposit which the party initiating the action pays).  And depending on the case and the guardian ad litem, the parties would likely be ordered to pay additional money for the guardian ad litem.  Then often a home custody study is ordered (which has a substantial fee).

If a fee waiver is approved, the filing fee and part of the mediation fee can be waived.  Even the guardian ad litem deposit can be waived.  But regardless of ability to pay at the end of the case, the parties are typically ordered to pay back guardian ad litem fees and home custody study fees.

Now, imagine that the mother recently separated from an abusive partner who is also the father of her children. Her abusive partner likely did not allow her to work and did not give her access to the money.  She is likely struggling to keep a roof over her and her children's heads.  How would she pay back the court for these fees?

Funding for non-profits

With the economy and the debt crisis at both the state and national level, non-profits are struggling to make ends meet.  Corporate donors are cutting their donations.  Government grants are dwindling.  Everyone is being forced to make difficult decisions.

To those that can afford to, please donate to your local domestic violence organizations, homeless shelters, and other charities.  We need to take care of those less fortunate than us.

The power of a legal advocate

I may change my mind many more times but right now I'm not sure that law school is the right avenue.  There are times an attorney is necessary and there are times when what a victim needs most is support.  It's very difficult if not impossible to be both an attorney and a support to the victim.

Now if only we can convince the government to stop cutting funding as the need for our services only becomes greater....

Taxes - Married filing separately

I learned something new yesterday.  As a common law state, in Wisconsin, married couples can file taxes as married filing separately and choose to each file half of each other's income.  If one party decides to file that way, both parties must file that way.  This means that if one party earns $100,000 a year and the other party earns $10,000 a year, then both parties would claim $55,000 of income on their taxes.  The party only earning $10,000 would likely find it VERY difficult to come up with all the tax that would be due especially if the parties are separated or going through a divorce.  So this is something that really needs to be thought through before court orders specify how the parties will file their taxes.

Why does he do that?

I am in the middle of reading the book Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft. He does an incredible job of explaining the dynamics of domestic violence and attempting to explain why abusive men are abusive.

Chapter 10 is a great chapter title "Abusive Men as Parents." At one point he discusses the mixed messages that society sends mothers who are victims of domestic violence and he said something that really struck me. He talks about how when mothers choose to stay with their abusive partners, child protection officials threaten to take their children away and claim that they are failing to protect their children. But then when a mother leaves her abusive partner and goes to the court regarding custody and physical placement, the court tells her that she can't keep the children away from their father. Washington County goes even further and says that 50/50 placement is in the best interests of the child. So it is not OK to stay and let her children be exposed to the violence but once you leave, you have no choice but to allow your children be exposed to the violence. How does that make any sense?

"Domestic Violence Claimed 58 Lives in Wisconsin" in 2010

Linked here is the Wisconsin Domestic Violence Homicide Report for 2010 put together by WCADV.  Hopefully, it makes people more aware of what is happening to so many victims so that victims can find people to reach out to before it is too late.

Charging Conferences

Washington County does things differently than many other counties in Wisconsin.  One difference that I appreciate is charging conferences.  After every arrest related to domestic violence, a charging conference is held (typically within one business day).  At the charging conference, the victim has the chance to meet with the a victim/witness advocate at the DA's office to give their input, tell their story, and know before they leave whether their perpetrator will be charged, given a citation, or warned.

Time Management

With my new position, I am really struggling with balancing my schedule and not burning out.  There are so many people who need legal assistance and only so much time in a day.  And prior to this I really haven't had much of a schedule to manage (at least a schedule that I could control).  In my last position, it was only a couple appointments a week at most.

I sat down with my executive director on Tuesday to discuss my problem and we had a good brainstorming session.  I also briefly talked to a former colleague and attorney who told me that it takes practice.

So here are some thoughts and I encourage any other suggestions.

If a hearing is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., I need to not attempt to do charging conferences at 1:30 as well and see if one of my colleagues is available to attend those charging conferences.

I would like to structure my schedule so that I am only providing legal information on legal matters besides restraining orders only a couple of times a week.  Ideally I would like to set up a schedule where these appointments are scheduled at a certain time every week (every Thursday evening and Tuesday mornings) and only agree to see a set number of people each week.

I need to make sure I'm doing adequate screening over the phone so that I refer cases that are beyond me to an attorney right away.  I think I do this pretty well but it something I need to keep in the back of my mind.

I need to block of some time soon to organize my office and set up a better system for keeping track of current clients, resources, etc.

I also hope that my supervisor can find a legal advocate who I can connect with for more ideas.

Well, that's a start.

Monsters in the Closet

This video speaks for itself.

Asking for a petitioner's address in an injunction case

I recently had a discerning experience during a domestic abuse injunction hearing in which I was providing service representation to the petitioner.  After the petitioner took the stand, the Commissioner asked her what her address was.  This was on the record with the respondent sitting in the room.  Fortunately, this client was together enough to respectfully evade a real answer even after the Commissioner pushed her but not all clients will be in a state of mind to do that.

So after I got back to the office and had some time to process it, I pulled out the statutes to see if the statutes prohibit the court from asking for that information beyond the confidential address form that is filed with the clerk and sealed.  813.12(5M) addresses the confidentiality of the petitioner's address in that it can not be on any court orders or the petition but makes no comment about asking for it during the hearing.  I believe the intent of the law was to keep the petitioner's address confidential completely but unfortunately that is not how it is written.  And I spoke with an attorney that represents petitioners in injunction hearings all the time who after reading the statute confirmed that nothing prohibits the court from asking for the petitioner's address.

So I have been trying to think of the best way to educate this commissioner on the importance of keeping a DV victim's address confidential.  If anyone has some thoughts, I would love to hear them.

A few tidbits regarding restraining orders

On Monday, I had a chance to talk with a GAL as we were waiting for our case to be called.  He pointed out a couple of things that I hadn't thought about and so I would like to share that information with you.

First, the statutes state that if the respondent was not served by the time of the hearing, the petitioner is entitled to one 14 day extension of the temporary restraining order.  So in our case when the Judge only gave us a 7 day extension, the GAL was able to successfully ask for an additional 7 day extension (for a total the 14 days).  I'm not sure if all Judges would agree to this but it is one way to think a little more creatively.

Secondly, the GAL pointed out that in a case where service is going to be a challenge, we might want to consider filing and NOT asking for the temporary restraining order.  This would give additional time to attempt to serve the respondent without the limitation of one 14 day extension.  The standard rules of service would apply in this case.  The one concern I have with this is that until an actually hearing is held after the respondent has been served, there would be no temporary restraining order in place.  But on the other hand the temporary restraining order is unenforceable until served.

Nicolas Spark's memoir

I realize this isn't all that related to the focus of my blog but I felt the need to share this book with all my readers. I just finished Three Weeks with My Brother written by Nicolas and Micah Sparks.  The title of this post is linked to the book's description on Nicolas Spark's website.  This was a book that I could not put down because it was written in a way that made you become a part of the Sparks family.  It showed the challenges faced by the Sparks and how they overcame them and how those challenges affected the people they became.  The book is also full of life's lessons and a reminder that we should live each day to it's fullest and seek balance in our lives.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

I embark upon a new journey

My last day at Legal Action of Wisconsin was June 30, 2011 and it was a bitter sweet day. I will miss my colleagues greatly. The attorneys and paralegals that I worked with there showed a true dedication to their clients, something I greatly admire in each of them.

On that day as one door closed another opened which will lead me on a new adventure. Soon I will be the legal advocate at Friends of Abused Families in West Bend and the advocates and staff at Friends seem to have an equal dedication to their clients.

With every job change comes new challenges, new experiences, new colleagues, and a new chance to step out of one's comfort zone. I will no longer be the support behind the scenes as I was at Legal Action. I will now be one of the "faces of Friends" interacting with the community, supporting clients as they navigate the challenging legal system, and advocating for victims' needs and rights.

So as I enjoy this month off between jobs, I spend much time pondering where I have been and where I am going. And I anticipate many more sleepless nights as these thoughts occupy my brain.

Days are numbered

The support and kind words from my colleagues are a double edge sword as they make me realize just how much they appreciate the work I do and make me remember that my days with them are numbered. I will really miss them and am really sad to have to leave but can only look forward to where my life will bring me next.

My colleagues met this morning to discuss how they can provide the same level of services with one less person. It amazes me to see their dedication to our clients. I'm sure other departments are struggling to find ways to continue to meet the challenging and never ending needs of population that continues to grow as the economy worsens even as they lose staff members.

I hope that my colleagues who are also being laid off with the loss of state funding find a new position that they truly enjoy.

State budget plan zeros out legal services

Click on the title of this post to read an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the loss of state funding for legal services in Wisconsin.

WaterStone Bank is giving away $90,000

Click on the link to vote for your favorite non-profit in southeastern WI. You can vote as many times as you want between now and April 30, 2011. The organization with the most votes will get $30,000 and the four runner ups will get $15,000 each from WaterStone Bank in celebration of their 90th anniversary! Thank you WaterStone Bank!

If you don't know who to vote for, here are a couple of my favorite non-profit organizations:

Sojourner Family Peace Center - They provide advocacy and resources for victims of domestic violence. They make referrals to help clients get the legal help they need as well as connect them with counseling and provide group sessions for victims, batterers, and children who have witnessed the violence. They also provide emergency housing for women victims of domestic violence and their children.

The Women's Center, Inc - They provide emergency housing for women victims of domestic violence and their children. They also provide long term housing and many other services to victims of domestic violence in the Waukesha area.

One step at a time

Thursday morning work was full of laughter and smiles as we all commented on each other's St. Patrick's Day outfits of green (I wore "My lucky socks"). It was a really good reminder, after Wednesday's very depressing staff meeting on the future of our firm, to live each day as it's own. I can't control what happens tomorrow but I can control what I do for my client's today.

State and Federal Budgets for Legal Services Corporation

As budget bills sweep through our nation to deal with the lower revenues and years of spending beyond our means, I can't help but fear how my clients and potential clients will fare. My state's budget bill cut out all LSC funding. We are likely to see cuts at the federal level and there is uncertainty as to whether some of our grants will be renewed.

Besides the obvious fact that I may be unemployed soon, what I fear most are the effects these proposed budgets will have on my clients. We already do not have resources to help all the people that need help. This drastic of cuts will mean even more facing our challenging legal system alone, many of whom have additional barriers to our legal system such as disabilities or limited English skills.

Additionally, our state budget bills makes drastic cuts to public benefits, benefits that almost all of our clients greatly depend on to help them put food on the table or pay for a roof over there heads.

I realize that cuts will have to me made and we all will have to sacrifice. But I hope our representatives don't focus most of the cuts on those who can afford it least. And I hope that those of us with more will do our best to fill the gap through charity contributions of time and money.

The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax

I just finished reading The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax (title linked to the author's website) and I enjoyed it so much I felt I should blog about it. In this book we follow the life of a fictional cello player in Europe who lived during both World Wars and the Spanish Civil War in between. The historical details this author incorporates along with well developed characters make the story so real that I sometimes forgot I was reading a book of fiction.