Legal Blog - Domestic Violence

Increased Domestic Abuse during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) crisis is a concern and support groups and the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court are available to those in need.…

Abuse Prevention orders (209A) have serious impacts on divorce proceedings. A 209A is a civil protective order requested by one party against another pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209A. A violation of a 209A is a criminal offense. Once it is ordered, vacating this orders (209A) is no small feat. M…

Anti-Abuse Advertising – Kids are abused every day. Unfortunately, sometimes the abuser is a family member or another adult that convinces the child to keep his or her silence. Whether the child’s parents are going through a divorce, caught in the middle of a parenting dispute or being abuse…

The recent shooting of police officer Kevin Ambrose in Springfield, MA draws attention to the unpredictability of domestic violence or abusive relationship. The officer was shot responding to a domestic incident between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The shooter was a corrections officer on Rikers Isla…

This post concludes the three-part series on Massachusetts Harassment Prevention Orders. In Liew v. Stansfield, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court focused on the type of speech involved and whether or not that type of speech was exempt from the harassment definition . A different Massachusetts…

Domestic violence is a hidden reality. It affects people of all incomes, races and religions. Domestic violence is often not reported to the police due to the abused being fearful of additional abuse by the abuser. Frequently the abused does not have the necessary support group to distance themselve…

A Massachusetts protective order, often referred to as a restraining order is a court order that may state that one party cannot communicate and/or go near the other party. The court has the authority to make the order as narrow or inclusive as the court sees fit. The purpose of the protective order…

Following Part I in this three-part series on Massachusetts Harassment Prevention Orders, this post focuses on the most recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision discussing the requirements for the issuance of a Harassment Prevention Order and its relation to constitutionally protected and unprote…

Whether you love her, hate her, or are still unsure of who she is and why she is famous, Kesha is an American singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom over the past five years through her catchy albeit trivial pop songs about having fun and being young. Despite Kesha’s promotion of a carefre…

The ABC network’s show “Scandal” recently featured an episode where its character, Abby Whelan, a domestic abuse victim, saw her abuser waiting for her at work. The encounter caused her severe anxiety and appreciably decreased her workplace productivity. Unfortunately, this phenome…