THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501060203
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
A MOTHER OF THREE cried as she told attorney Judith L. Rosenblatt that she wanted to take out a protective order against her husband of more than a dozen years.
``When my job got demanding, he couldn't deal with it,'' she told the lawyer in a small conference room outside juvenile court. ``He started getting possessive. I couldn't hardly go to the store without him following me.''
Once he drew a shotgun on her and the children, she said. Another time he complained that she stayed away too long visiting family, then he hit her and knocked her down.
``I've just been putting up with him threatening me and telling me he was going to kill me,'' she said, adding that he sleeps with a gun under his pillow.
The final straw came when he complained about her hogging the bed.
``He punched me and told me to get over on my side of the bed,'' she said. ``He started stomping and raving around. He said I'll take you out and myself, too. I was really scared because it was like he was going out of his mind.''
On a recent Friday, Rosenblatt was by the woman's side to describe the courtroom, and to tell her what to expect as part of a new program in Virginia Beach juvenile and domestic relations courts.
The program, called CLASS - Concerned Lawyers Advocating Spousal Safety - is touted by Virginia Beach court officials as the first of its kind in the state.
It is designed to usher victims of family abuse through the courts at a time when they are the most emotional and traumatized - and to help victims secure orders of protection against their abusers.
``The whole idea of the program is to have the victims adequately represented in court,'' said Juvenile Judge Ronald H. Marks. ``Theoretically, the judges are supposed to be neutral. If that's the case, then these victims need someone to walk them through the maze of the legal system. We want every victim of family abuse to know that they have a lawyer to represent them.''
The volunteer program assures that anyone, regardless of income, will be assigned an attorney. The representation will be for that day only unless the client appears in juvenile court again regarding a protective order and the same attorney happens to volunteer for the day.
Volunteer attorneys must refuse to represent that client in further proceedings for pay, and refuse to name other attorneys who might represent them should divorce or custody proceedings follow. Those rules were set to avoid any possible perception of a conflict of interest. The volunteer attorneys will only give out a 1-800 number for lawyer referrals when asked to suggest a lawyer for the client.
When the mother of three reached the courtroom, Rosenblatt told Judge Marks that the woman feared for her safety and for the safety of her children.
But her husband told the judge that he did not have a loaded gun under his pillow and that he hadn't threatened her.
``For the last four years, my wife has tried to provoke me to leave her,'' the husband said.
Marks issued an order of protection asking that the husband leave the house for a designated time to allow the wife to get her belongings and making provisions for visitation. That order will dissolve in six months.
Before the morning was over, the judge also would hear from a woman who said she'd suffered repeated abuse at the hands of her drug-abuser husband, a woman who was separated from her husband but needed a better way to exchange the children for visitation, and from a 16-year-old boy whose stepfather had given him a black eye.
It's much the same each Friday in several courtrooms.
Judge Marks said he recognized the need for help for victims and went to the Virginia bar with the idea. Rosenblatt already was working on a volunteer program for lawyers. Their thoughts melded into the CLASS program.
``Sometimes women come in here with broken jaws and broken limbs,'' Marks said. ``Instead of being a referee, I can be a judge.''
The lawyer volunteers translate legal jargon and make sure victims have realistic expectations and leave thinking that the system has worked for them.
In some cases, the victims' emotional states have jeopardized their ability to get a protective order, which prohibits contact or, in some cases, narrowly defines what that contact will be.
``They were so emotionally upset that they couldn't present their case such that we could give them any help,'' Marks said. ``Victims file an affidavit, but sometimes would forget to advise the judge of all the facts.''
A pilot version of the CLASS program started in October with volunteers from the Virginia Beach Bar Association. About 150 lawyers are needed this year to cover the 50 Fridays with three lawyers each, said Rosenblatt, who has organized the program.
During her days in court, Rosenblatt had heard enough to convince her that the volunteer program was needed.
``There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear a woman say a man has told her he's going to `O.J. her,' '' Rosenblatt said.
Judy G. McReynolds, a probation counselor in charge of volunteers for the Virginia Beach courts, can tell the program is making a difference because she remembers what used to happen in the courtroom.
``I've counseled a woman all week and when she got to court in the same room with her abuser, she couldn't state her case and she'd lose,'' she said. ``They are just so much more confident to have someone there who asks the right legal questions.''
But the court officials also warn the family abuse victims of the limitations of a protective order.
``We're very careful to remind them that the piece of paper can't stop a bullet, can't stop a knife,'' McReynolds said. ``But it does give some comfort to the woman that the police are going to arrest someone who violates this order. It wasn't too many years ago that society as a whole wasn't sympathetic to that issue.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
[Color cover photo with no photo credit or cutline info provided.<]
Attorney Judith L. Rosenblatt was working on a volunteer program for
lawyers when Juvenile Judge Ronald H. Marks said he recognized the
need for help for family abuse victims and went to the Virginia bar
with the idea. Their thoughts melded into the CLASS program.
``Sometimes women come in here with broken jaws and broken limbs,''
Judge Marks said. ``Instead of being a referee, I can be a judge.''
Rosenblatt says about 150 lawyers are needed this year to cover the
program for 50 Fridays with three lawyers each. During her days in
court, Rosenblatt had heard enough to convince her that the
volunteer program was needed. ``There isn't a day that goes by that
I don't hear a woman say a man has told her he's going to `O.J.
her,' '' she said.
Graphic NEED HELP?
Anyone interested in more information about the Concerned Lawyers
Advocating Spousal Safety program should call the Virginia Beach
court services unit at 427-4361.
KEYWORDS: SPOUSAL ABUSE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAWYER ATTORNEY CLASS
by CNB