Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

6 Julie A. Domonkos
must bear the burden of proving that he presents no risk to his children before
he is granted the privilege of rearing them.
Another tough truth that must be confronted is that money counts when it
comes to access to justice. Poor battered women who cannot afford an attorney
are often left to represent themselves or are provided piecemeal representation by
attorneys without resources or perhaps even background in domestic violence.
Under current law, poor people who cannot afford an attorney are not entitled to
appointed counsel in matrimonial or child support matters. This has a devastating
impact on domestic violence victims who need self-sufficiency in order to stay
free of their abusers. Without the benefit of effective and zealous advocacy,
many women are forced to give up their fair share of the family assets to get
legal custody of their children (and thereby keep them safe from the abuser).
New York State needs a comprehensive plan to provide seamless and effective
legal representation for all battered women and their children. In the meantime,
courts must ensure that battered women are promptly and safely given the child
support to which their children are entitled and that non-monied battered women
spouses in divorce actions receive pendente lite relief from the beginning of the
action so that they can obtain the best possible legal representation and their fair
share of the marital estate.
A final and perhaps most important challenge is to remember that the
justice system alone cannot solve the problem of domestic violence, either for
society as a whole or for individual victims. The work to end domestic violence
is not a criminal justice movement. It is a social change movement that requires
a fundamental shift in every part of our culture. No lawyer, police officer,
prosecutor, judge, or probation officer can guarantee the safety of a victim.
Each can use the law as one tool, in partnership with the victim, to help her
in her quest for safety and self-sufficiency for herself and her children. It is a
critical mistake to think that the justice system has all the answers for battered
women and their children and that we should therefore dictate to them what to
do and reject or punish them if they choose another path. The legal tool must be
used in conjunction with other social service tools in a holistic approach to
helping abused family members make a new life. While the justice system has
made huge advances in the effort to help victims and children over the past
decade, it must never presume to be the cure.