The Supreme Court of Ohio - Supreme Court - State of Ohio

Advisory Committee
on Domestic Violence
Diana Ramos-Reardon,
staff liaison
Chrystal Alexander
Hon. Debra Boros, chair
Robin Bozian
Joe Ellison
Doug Engel
Jeff Ginsburg
Rose Handon
Hon. James Heath
Marianne Hemmeter
Hon. Jeffrey Hooper
Nancy Neylon
Hon. John Rohrs
Michael Smalz
Hon. Dottie Tuttle
Hon. Sandra Walker
Domestic Violence Program
The Domestic Violence Program complements and expands
Supreme Court efforts to assist and support local courts with
best practices and procedures in civil and criminal domestic
violence and stalking cases. The goals of the program include
increasing victim safety and holding offenders accountable. The
program tracks cutting-edge trends in the domestic violence
field and disseminates the information to local courts and allied
professionals. The program works closely with the Advisory
Committee on Domestic Violence, which is appointed by the
Chief Justice.
During 2008, the Domestic Violence Program staff responded
to nearly 80 requests for information on a wide array of topics.
The program expanded its national presence with listings as a
statewide resource on the National Center for State Courts and
WomenLaw.org Web sites. In addition, the program released
a new informational brochure in October to coincide with the
Court’s recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The program also provided technical assistance in the
development of teen-dating violence legislation and the Ohio
Family Violence Needs Assessment project.
The Domestic Violence Program provided leadership in
retaining Ohio’s eligibility for Violence Against Women Act
grant monies. Under recently enacted federal requirements,
judges must certify that domestic violence misdemeanants
are notified of their possible firearms liability. Without such
certification, the state is not eligible for grant funds. Staff also
recommended changes to the domestic violence and stalking
protection order forms necessitated by the legislative provisions
on judicial notification. The Supreme Court adopted the
recommended changes in 2008 with an effective date of Feb. 1,
2009.
In addition, program staff developed a training video
explaining the changes to the protection order forms that took
effect in 2007 and worked closely with the Advisory Committee
on Domestic Violence subcommittees to:
• Propose new standardized forms, including motions
and entries to modify or terminate a protection order
and pro se contempt forms.
• Prepare a model court rule on preferred practices
when issuing domestic violence protection orders.
• Recommend instructions for completing the National
Crime Identification Center form (Sup.R. Form 10-A).
70 2008 Annual Report • The Supreme Court of Ohio