The Downside of Benign Intent

20 Pages Posted: 22 May 2015

Date Written: 1997

Abstract

Statutes in all fifty states and the territories authorize courts to issue civil orders designed to provide protection to survivors of domestic violence and their children. The District of Columbia statute that authorizes this intervention, the Intrafamily Offenses Act, premises the entry of these orders, called Temporary Protection Orders (TPOs) and Civil Protection Orders (CPOs), upon the finding that an intrafamily offense has occurred. Traditionally, those individuals required to respond to petitions for CPOs have not been required to admit to the alleged crime in order for the court to enter an order by consent. This practice has been so common that even a form answer for respondents was suggested. The standard form would have instructed respondents to admit or deny the allegations in the petition for a CPO and the court could still enter an order indicating that the respondent had consented. Although the proposed form was not adopted, judges in the Superior Court handling these cases are split on whether admission of the underlying offenses is required prior to entering a civil protection order. This essay asserts that courts should not have the authority to enter a civil protection order without an admission or conviction, and while the court's intent may be benign, the effect is that the integrity of protective orders is undermined in jurisdictions where such practices have developed.

Keywords: family law, domestic violence, TPO, CPO, intrafamily offense

Suggested Citation

Barry, Margaret Martin, The Downside of Benign Intent (1997). American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, Vol. 5, 1997, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2607394

Margaret Martin Barry (Contact Author)

Vermont Law School ( email )

68 North Windsor Street
P.O. Box 60
South Royalton, VT 05068
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Our_Faculty/Faculty_Directory/Margaret_Martin_Barry.htm

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