Dependent Adult Abuse
Who is a dependent adult? At law in the State of California, a dependent adult is someone between 18 and 64 that has certain mental or physical disabilities that keep him or her from being able to do normal activities...
Imprecise Language is Misleading in Domestic Violence Decision
The 2nd Appellate District's opinion in Rodriguez v Menjivar, ordered published on January 7, 2016, implies that emotional harm does constitute domestic violence. Generally "emotional harm" to a spouse has been non-actionable under domestic violence statutes, for obvious reasons codified...
New Developments Under the DVPA – Part 2 of 2
Though the findings in Evilsizor v Sweeney, as discussed last week in New Developments Under the Law (Part 1 of 2), concern me greatly, I find myself in accord with the recent decision made by the 2nd Appellate District Court,...
New Developments Under the DVPA – Part 1 of 2
In Marriage of Evilsizor v. Sweeney (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 1416, the 1st Appellate District Court extended the Domestic Violence Protection Act just a bit farther than I think it should have gone, and this may have long-lasting results in our...
Just… Don’t Say This in Court.
We decided you'd perhaps like to have some more practical advice... and the best way to do that is to give you examples of flame-outs we have seen (or assisted) in court. ----- This occurred while I was sitting in...
What Is Legally Actionable Domestic Violence? Part 1 of 2
By "actionable" I mean a type of domestic violence that will be recognized by the Courts of the State of California as sufficient to warrant a Domestic Violence Restraining Order. Many web sites now call a wide variety of behaviors...
What Is Legally Actionable Domestic Violence? Part 2 of 2
The Legal Definition of Domestic Violence The legal definition of domestic violence is purportedly found in Family Code Section 6211. Though the statute is entitled Domestic Violence Defined," it actually provides more of a list of who can commit domestic...