At present, experts struggle to pin down the cause of rising domestic violence calls in the New York City Burrough of Staten Island. While some health officials cite the increase in opioid use as a possible contributor, they are far from determining a viable culprit. And perhaps there is none. It...
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South Carolina House Representative Resigns After Domestic Violence Charge
Amid discussions to expel him from office, South Carolina State Representative Chris Corley formally resigned from his post on January 24th. Corley was charged with physically assaulting and pointing a firearm at his wife. The incident occurred at the couple's Graniteville home one day after Chri...
Man Convicted of Wife's Murder in 1990 Assaults New Girlfriend While on Parole
The new round of assault charges have been brought against convicted murderer and serial domestic violence offender Frank Joe Belmarez. Last July, Belmarez was charged with aggravated assault and partner or family member assault against his girlfriend at the time. Over 6 months removed from the i...
Illinois Passes New Law Requiring All Hairdressers to Receive Domestic Violence Awareness Training
Illinois recently adopted a law that will take effect at the beginning of 2017 which requires all 88,000 salon workers in the state to take a domestic violence awareness training to teach them how to recognize the signs and symptoms. The training will include one hour every two years and will als...
Seattle Woman Pleads Not Guilty to Allegations that She Doused Her Daughter in Gasoline, Threatened to Light Her on Fire
On November 16, 44-year-old Seattle woman Lisa Kyles plead not guilty to the felony charge of attempted first degree assault and harassment of her 14 year old daughter. Both of these charges carry domestic violence qualifiers. Kyles allegedly beat her daughter, doused her in gasoline, then threat...
Actor Faces Charges of Domestic Violence While Fighting Personal Injury Lawsuit
A Hollywood actor with a history of drug abuse and domestic violence convictions has found himself in trouble once again. Not only is Tom Sizemore facing criminal charges for allegedly hitting his girlfriend, a stuntman has just filed a personal injury lawsuit claiming the actor was intoxicated d...
Man With ‘Extensive History’ of Domestic Violence Kills Girlfriend
A man with an “extensive history of domestic-violence convictions” has been arrested after killing his estranged girlfriend, who had taken out an order of protection against him. The couple's two children were in the apartment at the time of the shooting. The 46-year-old man has been charged wit...
Seattle Man Who Pimped Girlfriend Across State Lines Sentenced in Federal Court
A Seattle man who traveled across the Oregon state line to pimp out his girlfriend was sentenced late last month to four years in a federal prison. Although prostitution is illegal in all 50 states, the man was sentenced in U.S. District Court because he crossed state lines to facilitate the ill...
Former Seattle Seahawks QB Charged With Assault
Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was arrested June 24 in Florida after officials say he pulled a gun on a woman, reported to be his wife. The 33-year-old free agent and his wife were on vacation when the incident occurred. Jackson's wife told deputies with the Osceola County ...
Snohomish County Student Arrested for Threatening; May Face Years in Prison
A Snohomish County high school student was arrested earlier this month for threatening other students on social media. The 18-year-old suspect was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of stalking and felony harassment, according to The Seattle Times. The teen is suspected of t...
Actor, Johnny Depp -- Like Anyone Else -- May Face Costly Litigation Over Domestic Violence Accusations
Actor Johnny Depp made headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. Accusations of domestic violence, made by his wife of a year, overshadowed the opening of his latest movie. Though his wife declined to press charges and police officers determined no crime occurred, the actor will still find h...
Minnesota Passes New Revenge Pornography Law
The internet has changed a lot of things. Being able to freely share information has revolutionized numerous different aspects of life. One of these life aspects that the internet has changed on a basic level, but which rarely gets talked about, is pornography. On many different levels, pornograp...
Supreme Court Finds Peremptory Challenges Were Unlawful in Georgia Case
The criminal justice process of the United States is what is called an “adversarial system.” This means that it operates like a game of football, where two sides do absolutely everything that they can, within the rules, to score more points than their opponent and come away with a win. As for tac...
Restraining Orders Can be Permanent in Washington
A common aspect of a divorce is an allegation of domestic violence. These nearly always come with restraining orders, which are issued by a court and demand that the two people not deal with each other in specified ways for a set period of time. Because restraining orders and domestic violence ar...
Georgia Man Faces Charges for Toddler's Drinking
A crime of domestic violence is really just any other crime, but committed against a specific set of people. In the state of Washington, that specific set of people that turns a crime into a crime of domestic violence is a “family or household member.” Unlike some other states, in Washington, it ...
How Police Respond to Domestic Violence Accusations, and What to Remember
A domestic violence situation occurs whenever there is abuse, a threat, or any kind of violent behavior between people who are in an intimate relationship. While this means that domestic violence crimes are just ordinary crimes, committed against certain people, the ways that police respond to al...
Probation and How Different Courts in Washington Handle It
Unfortunately, a conviction for any crime, but especially a crime of domestic violence, is only the beginning of a long process in the criminal justice system. Most people think that, if you have been convicted for a crime, once the fines have been paid and the jail time has been served, everythi...
Restraining Order Abuse in Washington
One of the things that commonly comes out in the early stages of a domestic violence situation is a restraining order, also referred to as a "no contact order." The legal system in Washington has not only made these easy to get and quick to receive, it has also made them incredibly powerful. Rest...
Self-Defense: Can It Apply To You?
Although we do not regularly like to think about it, there are situations in which an innocent person can be charged with a crime when defending themselves from a serious threat. Suppose you are in public when you are suddenly attacked, but manage to defend yourself and incapacitate the attacker....
Tragic Case of Domestic Violence: Was Mental Illness The Cause?
5 Eyewitness News reported on a tragic case of domestic violence that occurred near Minneapolis, Minnesota in mid-February. Corey Perry was with his brother at a Minneapolis area restaurant, Eat Street Social Restaurant and Bar, when he got into an altercation. The altercation was with a restaur...
The Origins of Miranda Rights
If you've ever seen a legal drama or procedural cop show, you know that when the bad guy (or girl) is arrested for committing the crime of the week, the arresting officer reads the perpetrator his or her rights. These rights, called Miranda rights, can be stated in any number of ways. The follow...
Can Domestic Violence Charges Take Away Your Guns?
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution allows any citizen the right to bear arms. If you own a firearm, you are undoubtedly proud to be able to exercise this right. Owning a firearm makes you feel safe and protected from possible home intruders or other threats. However, firearm o...
NFL Taking a Tougher Stance on Domestic Violence
Towards the end of 2014, the NFL imposed a much harsher penalty system for its personal conduct policy. The league drafted a new personal conduct policy with the more extensive punishments focusing on "assault, battery, domestic violence, dating violence, child abuse, other forms of family violen...
How a Domestic Violence Charge Can Affect Where You Live
Finding an apartment or a place to live is hard enough, and with more and more landlords refusing to take on new tenants facing even pending charges, it is important to know what rights both you and your landlord have when the issue comes up. A domestic violence conviction can be incredibly damag...
What a Domestic Violence Charge Can Mean For Parents
It is not uncommon for a household dispute to result in domestic violence charges, and in homes with children, things can get even more complicated. When facing charges of domestic violence, you may find yourself in a heated custody battle over your child. Any incident, however small or large, of...