Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

128 Mary Rothwell Davis
matters are treated in that locale. If there are no organized services for battered
women, that is an important fact to bring before the court’s attention.
Although the UCCJEA does expand to an important degree the power of a
court to assume at least temporary jurisdiction of cases involving domestic
violence, the statutory scheme should not be regarded, where there is already an
order of custody in place, as a means of avoiding a relocation hearing under
Matter of Tropea. 34 Absent real evidence of risk to the parent seeking refuge in a
new jurisdiction, the UCCJEA does not authorize much more than referral back
to the court that made the initial custody determination. Where such risk can be
shown, however, particularly when combined with evidence that the new
jurisdiction is a supportive one to the parent and child, the UCCJEA can now
offer real relief that was not previously available to victims of domestic violence
and their children.