7 Alb. Govt. L. Rev. 189 (2014)
Heath Hardman
Legal professionals must broaden the context within which
they view issues of domestic violence in order to effectively
understand the threats facing their clients and to avoid being
manipulated. For example, an attorney representing a client in
Family Court should be aware of the possibility that an adverse
party may use criminal proceedings against his or her client to
gain leverage to attack the client in a custody dispute. Likewise,
a prosecutor should be aware that a person claiming a crime
committed by a spouse may be motivated by an impending divorce, separation, or custody dispute. By examining the ways
in which one abuser manipulated seemingly isolated portions of
the legal system, this Note will expose the legal tactics used so
that attorneys and judges can better guard against such tactics in
the future. Telling the story of one individual will add to the
collective knowledge of the legal community. By looking at
multiple accounts of individuals, and the struggles they faced in
courts and at the hands of their abusers, the legal community can
determine whether systemic changes are needed. It is no longer
one failure of the legal system, or one judge or attorney, but a
systemic failure and a weakness in the system that may be
exploited.
One overwhelming conclusion will emerge from the telling of
Clarice’s story: victims of domestic violence desperately need
competent representation. Part I of this Note will focus on
Clarice’s story and path through the legal system, part II will
examine whether or not the abuser’s behaviors were “typical,”
and part III will examine whether Joe’s abuse could have been
discovered and prevented. Discovering any “warning signs” will
be highly beneficial to attorneys and judges who may come across
similar scenarios in the future. Had Clarice been assigned a
competent attorney, trained in domestic violence issues, the
warning signs may have been heeded, and Clarice may not have
been re-victimized by her abuser within the legal system.