Articles in the Domestic Violence category - Page 3 of 3

We have Chapter 50B authorizing civil domestic violence protective orders to protect victims of domestic violence and Chapter 50C authorizing civil no-contact orders to protect victims of sexual misconduct and stalking who do not have the personal relationship with the perpetrator required for a 50B DVPO. Effective October 1, 2015, we now also have Chapter 50D authorizing permanent, non-expiring civil no-contact orders to provide additional protection to victims of sexual violence.

This Post was written by Professor Michael Crowell, UNC School of Government.

The question about fines for civil contempt is now resolved. Just over a year after the court of appeals allowed the use of a fine for civil contempt the General Assembly stepped in to say no, fines are not allowed for civil contempt, the only sanction is confinement until the person complies with the court order. In doing so, the legislature restored the law to what most thought it was before the appellate court ruling.

READ POST "NO FINES FOR CIVIL CONTEMPT (August 21, 2015)"

In my last post, Ex Parte DVPOs, I promised more on ex parte DVPOs. But the Court of Appeals issued an important decision this week on another aspect of Chapter 50B – the definition of ‘dating relationship’ – so I’ll come back to ex parte orders later.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has had quite a bit to say about ex parte DVPOs in the past few years. Repeatedly recognizing that while “an ex parte DVPO may be short-lived, … it has a potentially long-lasting and serious impact on a defendant, whether or not a DVPO is later issued,” Stancil v. Stancil, NC App (June 16, 2015), the court consistently has interpreted GS 50B-2 strictly.

By Guest Contributor, John Rubin*

Can the person protected by a DVPO be charged with violating the order?

Here’s a question I get occasionally: What language should I use to charge aiding and abetting a violation of a domestic violence protective order (DVPO)? Here’s a similar one: If someone is arrested for aiding and abetting a violation of a DVPO, is the person subject to the 48-hour pretrial release law for domestic violence offenses?

READ POST "Please Don’t Charge the Victim (May 6, 2015)"