A GUIDE TO
HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA'S
FAMILY
VIOLENCE LAWS
Houston Family Violence
Prevention Council
4th Edition, 2008
*Includes information
about how to apply for
Temporary Protection Orders
without an attorney.
Copyright used with permission by the
CONNECTICUT COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Copyright, CCADV, December 1989
To request more
copies of this guide,
contact HFVPC at
478-218-4810
Revised, HFVPC, September 1994
Revised, September 1996
Revised, HFVPC, April 1999
Revised, HFVPC, January, 2008
Developed by the
LEGAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM
a collaboration between CCADV and the Legal Aid Society of Hartford County, Inc.
AUTHORS
JILL M. DAVIES
Director, Legal Advocacy Project
Attorney, Domestic Violence Unit
Legal Aid Society of Hartford
County, Inc.
STEVEN EPPLER-EPSTEIN
Attorney, Connecticut Legal Services, Meriden
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS
LESLIE BRETT
Executive Director,
CT Women's Education and Legal Fund, Inc.
ANNE MENARD
Executive Director,
CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Inc.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Houston Family Violence Prevention Council gratefully acknowledges the support of the following individuals who provided invaluable assistance during the development of this guide:
HFVP Council Members
Cassandra Crosby
John W. Gibb
Robert Tawse, Solicitor General, Houston Judicial Circuit
Jason Ashford, Chief Assistant District Attorney, Houston Judicial Circuit and Chair, Houston Family Violence Prevention Council
Kim Tavalero, Legal Assistant, Houston Judicial Circuit
The Houston Family Violence Prevention Council (HFVPC) is committed to ensuring that family violence victims have clear and useful information about laws designed to protect them and about services available to provide support and assistance.
This guide grew from the same commitment made by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) and the Legal Advocacy Project. The Houston Family Violence Prevention Council has used this guide with permission from the CCADV and has tailored it for Houston County, Georgia.
This guide contains, in a simple and direct question-and-answer format, important information about Houston County's criminal and civil court remedies for people experiencing abuse from a family or household member.
Because the vast reported majority of family violence victims are women being abused by a male partner, we have used "she" to refer to victims, and "he" to refer to batterers. The information contained in this guide, however, is equally applicable to male family violence victims and to those being abused by female family or household members.
Information is a powerful tool. It is the hope of the HFVPC that the information in this guide will increase the ability of battered women and other victims of family violence to use Georgia's laws in court systems to protect themselves and their children.
We welcome your feedback.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction
II. How to use this book 2
III. Criminal Laws and Procedures 2
At the Scene 2
Post-Arrest 5
Court 6
Protective Orders
and Conditional Bonds 12
IV. Civil Laws and Procedures 14
Restraining/ Protective Orders 14
Who has the right
to live with me? 16
Divorce and Separation 17
Custody & Children’s Issues 18
V. Glossary 21
VI. Resource Directory 22
VII. Important Numbers …………….25
VIII. More Important Numbers……....26
VIIII. Houston County Resources……..27
X. Notes 32
I. INTRODUCTION
IF I HAVE BEEN HIT OR PHYSICALLY ABUSED BY SOMEONE I KNOW, WHAT ARE MY LEGAL OPTIONS?
Any time a person is hit or physically abused by another person - whether they know the person or not - it is considered a crime. The victim has the right to call the police and press charges against the offender.
However, when you have been hit or abused by someone such as a family member or a person with whom you are living, then you may need special protection or services. Recognizing these incidents require special attention, the Georgia General Assembly passed the Family Violence Act in 1981 and has since made minor changes to it. The Act and other laws include a variety of policies and procedures for police response, protective orders, restraining orders and services to victims, education for abusers and training for police and judicial personnel.
In summary, your legal options under Georgia's family violence laws are:
TO CALL THE POLICE AND REPORT WHAT
THE ABUSER HAS DONE;
TO SEEK A PROTECTIVE ORDER
OR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
FROM THE COURTS TO KEEP THE ABUSER AWAY FROM YOU;
TO RECEIVE INFORMATION AND SERVICES FROM THE COURTS, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE LOCAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTER.
This booklet will help explain your legal rights and options in more detail.
AT ANY TIME YOU CAN CALL ONE OF THE STATE'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECTS FOR A SAFE PLACE TO STAY, OR FOR SUPPORT AND INFORMATION TO HELP END THE VIOLENCE IN YOUR LIFE.
(See page 31 for a listing)
Call 1-800-33-HAVEN to reach the shelter nearest you.
II. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
HOW DO I KNOW IF THE FAMILY VIOLENCE LAWS APPLY TO ME?
The family violence laws apply to you if you have been hurt, harassed or threatened by a family or household member, a former spouse, a person with whom you have had a child, even if you have never been married or lived together, or any other person with whom you have lived, regardless of that person’s sex or sexual orientation.
THIS BOOK IS MEANT TO BE USED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE 18 YEARS OLD OR OVER. IF YOU ARE UNDER 18, SOME OF THE LAWS DESCRIBED HERE MAY APPLY TO YOU, BUT WE STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TALK TO A PARENT, GUARDIAN, FRIEND, TEACHER, LAWYER OR CALL THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES (DFCS, 478- 988-7600) FOR HELP.
WHAT IS IN THIS BOOK?
This book is divided into sections to make it easier to find the information you need. This first section is about the criminal parts of the Family Violence; the second addresses civil aspects. In the criminal context, the District Attorney’s Office (Perry) prosecutes people for felony crimes, such as false imprisonment, aggravated stalking and aggravated assault. The Solicitor General’s Office (Warner Robins) prosecutes people for misdemeanor offenses such as battery and criminal trespass. People who have been convicted of either felony or misdemeanor crimes might be sent to jail or receive some other form of punishment, depending upon the circumstances of a case and the wishes of the victim.
THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS BOOK:
The criminal section will answer many of your questions about police and arrest, what happens in court, conditional bonds and victim services. The civil section will answer many of your questions about civil orders of protection (including step-by-step instructions for obtaining a temporary protection order without an attorney), divorce, custody and child support. In civil courts, Superior court judges hear disputes such as divorces and requests for Temporary Protection Orders.
WHAT IF I NEED MORE HELP OR HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
Every situation is unique and this book may not answer all of your questions. You may want to contact a private attorney or the Legal Aid office for legal help or your local domestic violence shelter for emergency shelter, support and information. Many other resources including law enforcement, Magistrate Courts, State Court and Superior Court are available to help you as well. Some of these resources are listed in the back of this book.
III. CRIMINAL LAWS AND PROCEDURES
This section of the book contains information about the criminal laws related to family violence and includes discussions of police and arrests, what happens in court after someone is arrested, protective orders and victim resources.
AT THE SCENE
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I CALL THE POLICE?
Most police officers and sheriff's deputies understand the importance of responding quickly to calls about domestic violence. The first thing officers must do when they arrive is to make sure no further injury will occur, after which they can make decisions about whom to arrest, if anyone. Sometimes, victims disagree with the actions of the officers…what to do about these situations is discussed in a later section.
The officer must then gather facts about what has happened; this may take some time. They will want to talk to anyone who was part of the incident, or who witnessed or heard the incident. They will look to see if there is any “physical evidence”, such as bruises or blood on a person, torn clothing, broken dishes or furniture, damage to personal property or a house residence. If anyone appears to have been seriously injured, an ambulance may be called to transport the injured person to a local hospital for treatment. Based on all of the above, a decision is made about whether any arrest(s) should be made.
WILL THE OFFICER REMOVE THE ABUSER FROM MY HOME?
If the abuser has no legal right to be at your home, the police should require him to leave, whether or not he is arrested. But if the abuser does have the legal right to be at your home (see page 24 about who has the right to live with you) then a court is required to evict him from your home. If an arrest is made based on a Family Violence incident, the abuser will be required to stay away from your home.
If you are not sure whether the abuser has a legal right to be at your home, you should talk to a lawyer.
WHEN WILL THE POLICE MAKE AN ARREST?
Although an officer may arrest a person and place him or her in custody at the scene of an incident, the officer must then explain the “probable cause” for this arrest to the Magistrate Court and obtain a warrant within 48 hours of the arrest; otherwise the person arrested must be released.
If the offender is not at the scene of the incident or if some time has passed since the incident, then the officer would obtain an arrest warrant from the Magistrate Court. Law Enforcement would then arrest the abuser based on the warrant issued by Magistrate Court. This may take days or even months to occur – victims who know of open warrants that have not been “served” should contact either the Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, or the Solicitor’s Officer to ask about the delay!
IF THE POLICE NEED AN ARREST WARRANT IN ORDER TO MAKE AN ARREST, HOW DO THEY GET ONE?
To get an arrest warrant the officer must make an incident report and submit it to the Magistrate Court Judge. The Judge approves the warrant if sufficient probable cause exists to lead the Judge to believe that a crime has been committed.
A victim can also apply for a warrant by filing an incident report with the police then taking a copy of that report and any statements by witnesses, photos, or other evidence to the Magistrate Court. If the Court approves the warrant, the Sheriff’s
Office Warrant Division will make the arrest.
WITH WHAT CRIME WILL THE ABUSER BE CHARGED?
A single family violence incident can involve several crimes. For example, if the abuser comes to your house when he has no right to be there, and then hits, he could be charged with criminal trespass (if he was at your house without a right to be there and without your permission), and he could be charged with battery (if he hit you and there was observable injury that could be seen and photographed). If the facts concerning the incident are insufficient to show criminal trespass and battery, the officer may charge the less serious crime of disorderly conduct.
DEFINITION:
Misdemeanor - A crime punishable by up to 12 months in jail.
Examples: Simple Battery, Stalking, Disorderly Conduct, Criminal Trespass,
Harassing phone calls
Felony - A crime punishable by more than 1 year in jail.
Examples: Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Stalking or
Assault, Terroristic Threats and Acts
WHAT IF I DON'T WANT THE ABUSER ARRESTED?
If a police officer believes there is sufficient “probable cause” to indicate that a family violence crime has occurred, the primary aggressor will probably be arrested. A police officer does not base their decision to arrest on the wishes of the victim. It is based on sufficient probable cause and issues of victim safety.
HOW LONG WILL HE BE IN JAIL?
When a person is arrested on a Family Violence crime, he will be held in jail until he pays the bond and agrees to conditions concerning his release from jail set by the Judge for the protection of the victim of the abuse. If the abuser violates any condition of pretrial release, he can be charged with a felony crime.
The Court can sentence a person who is found guilty of a crime to jail. If probation is ordered, the Court may require attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous, an anger management course, a fine, restitution (for any damage that was done).
WHAT ELSE SHOULD THE POLICE DO?
The police will assist you in getting medical assistance if it is necessary. They will also tell you about community services which are available, including the phone number of the local family violence shelter and the local victim's assistance program. They will also explain to you that after an abuser is arrested he will normally have a first appearance hearing the next day, and the Judge will set up conditions of any bond, if bond is granted. Regardless of whether or not an arrest is made, the police will not leave the scene until they believe it is clear that there will be no further immediate violence.
WHAT CAN I DO IF I WANT THE ABUSER ARRESTED AND THE POLICE WON’T ARREST HIM?
If the police believe they do not have sufficient evidence to arrest the abuser, they will inform you of your right to have a copy of their incident report, which you can use to apply for an arrest warrant from the Magistrate Court.
WILL THE OFFICER REMOVE THE ABUSER FROM MY HOME?
If the abuser has no legal right to be at your home, the police should require him to leave, whether or not he is arrested. But if the abuser does have the legal right to be at your home (see page 24 about who has the right to live with you) then a court order is required to evict him from your home. If an arrest is made based on a Family Violence incident the abuser will be required to stay away from your home. If you are not sure whether the abuser has a legal right to be at your home, you should speak with a lawyer.