Pittsburgh PFA Lawyers
Harsh Sentences For PFA Violations
People accused of violating Protection From Abuse (PFA) orders face stiff penalties.
A PFA prohibits all contact between a defendant and the person alleging abuse. A Final PFA hearing is usually scheduled within 10 days after the Temporary PFA is issued.
If you are accused of violating a Temporary PFA Order, the case will likely be heard before a family-court judge.
But if you are accused of violating a Final PFA Order, the case will likely be heard before a criminal-court judge.
The official charge for violating a PFA is known as Indirect Criminal Contempt (ICC).
An ICC conviction carries a possible penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Spivak Law Firm routinely handles PFA and ICC hearings. To schedule a free consultation, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Resources For Domestic Violence Victims
Are you or a loved one a victim of domestic violence? If so, here are some online resources for seeking assistance.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
1 Broadway, Suite B210
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 839-1852
ncadv.org/learn-more/resources
Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh
P.O. Box 9024
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Administration: (412) 687-8017
24 Hour Hotline: (412) 687-8005
www.wcspittsburgh.org
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
6041 Linglestown Rd
Harrisburg, PA 17112
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
www.nrcdv.org
Spivak Law Firm provides aggressive representation for plaintiffs and defendants in domestic violence cases, including Protection From Abuse (PFA), Children Youth and Families (CYF), and criminal domestic violence.
To schedule a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA and Child Custody Tips
If you’ve been served with a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order, you may be restricted from seeing your children. In some cases, the PFA will allow no contact. In other cases, the PFA will allow limited contact.
If your PFA allows for limited contact with your children, please be very careful to avoid any conflict or mention of the PFA at custody exchanges. If you engage in argument or attempt to discuss the PFA at the custody exchange, you are placing yourself at serious risk of arrest for violating the PFA. Even if you are permitted custody of the children while the PFA remains active, it may be safer to decline in order to avoid false accusations that you violated the order.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law, including: divorce, child custody, child support, and PFA hearings. For more information, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA and Domestic Abuse Amid Coronavirus
“Mass shootings garner attention and frighten the public much more than episodes of domestic violence,” according to a recent article in The New York Times. “But domestic violence has a much higher death toll in the United States.”
Each year, some 900 women in the United States are murdered by their current or former intimate partners.
That single-year tally is more than nine times the number of people killed in jihadist attacks on American soil in the past decade.
At their most basic level, both mass terrorism and intimate terrorism of domestic violence are attempts to provoke fear and assert control. Many experts have expressed concern about the rise of domestic violence incidents during stay-at-home orders related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law and criminal defense with a focus on domestic abuse and child custody. For a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA Courts Remain Open During COVID-19
Although courts across Pennsylvania have largely closed due to the coronavirus crisis, Protection From Abuse cases are still occurring due to the emergency nature of a PFA.
Spivak Law Firm is continuing to accept PFA clients and provide strong representation at PFA hearings.
A PFA is a restraining order that prevents all contact when there are allegations of:
- Physical violence
- Sexual violence
- Threats of violence
- Harassment
- Stalking
A PFA is a powerful tool that can instantly evict you from your home, restrict you from your children, result in termination from your employment and even land you in jail.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate representation in all PFA matters. For a free phone consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Kids Who Witness Violence
Children who witness abuse suffer emotionally behaviorally, and cognitively.
There are no typical reactions to violence experienced by children.
Factors that may affect their behaviors include:
-Age
-Gender
-Amount of violence witnessed
-Type of abuse witnessed
-Whether the child is a victim as well as an observer of the abuse
Parents should try to be aware of behaviors that are unusual for a particular child and continue for a week or more.
If necessary, they should seek the help of a mental-health professional.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law with a special focus on child custody and domestic abuse. Call us today at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA: Economic Abuse
Physical injury and mental trauma often go hand in hand with domestic violence, but economic abuse is also “present in 98 percent of abusive relationships,” according to National Network to End Domestic Violence.
“Money is our society’s most concrete form of power,” wrote Sady Doyle in The Nation. “Women are kept captive to male violence because they can’t afford to live without the men who hurt them.”
Rather than viewing domestic violence as a women’s issue, Doyle recommends viewing domestic violence as an economic issue: “When we include gender in our economic understanding, our policy stops being a sort of generalized ‘uplift’ and starts providing specific and targeted aid.”
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law, including: divorce, child custody, child support, and PFA hearings.
To speak with an experienced family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
In The News: Spivak Law Firm
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has once again featured Spivak Law Firm on issues involving family law and criminal defense.
The P-G recently published Attorneys Need More Protection, written by attorney Todd Spivak, a two-time nominee of The Pulitzer Prize who focuses his practice on child custody and domestic abuse.
The Post-Gazette routinely features Spivak Law Firm, publishing several articles regarding child custody, Protection From Abuse (PFA), and criminal-record expungement laws in Pennsylvania.
In Attorneys Need More Protection, Attorney Spivak discusses the Constitutional basis for vigorously defending people accused of committing heinous crimes.
In Clean The Slate In Pennsylvania, Attorney Spivak and Attorney Rebecca Canterbury critique a new Pennsylvania law that for the first time seals criminal information from public view for people convicted of second- and third-degree misdemeanors.
In Impoverished Parents Deserve Their Day In Court, Attorney Canterbury reveals how exorbitant filing fees in Allegheny County prevent low-income parents from asserting their child-custody rights.
In Crack Down on Domestic Violence in Allegheny County, Attorney Spivak recommends that only specialized judges with extensive domestic-violence training oversee PFA hearings.
In Improve Pennsylvania’s Domestic-Abuse Law, Attorney Spivak exposes the issue of bogus PFA orders and recommends ways to curb abuses in the system.
In Child Custody for Rapists, Attorney Spivak explains how sexual predators use family court to harass and intimidate their victims.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate, cost-effective representation in all family law and criminal defense matters. To schedule a consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Domestic Violence: Victim Blaming
Criminal domestic violence court can be a site of victim blaming, but not just by alleged abusers. Spivak Law Firm advocates educating judges overseeing cases of domestic violence to avoid using victim-blaming language.
Victim advocates recommend instructing judges to use language that more appropriately describes the effects of domestic violence and holds abusers responsible.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive representation for plaintiffs and defendants at Protection from Abuse (PFA) and criminal domestic violence hearings. We routinely volunteer with Neighborhood Legal Services Association to help victims of domestic violence obtain protection orders from their abusers.
To speak with an experienced domestic violence attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Funding For Abuse Victims
In domestic-violence cases, research demonstrates that legal-aid services for women reduce the likelihood they will experience domestic violence in the future.
Unfortunately, President Trump’s proposed budget severely cuts departments that fund programs supporting domestic-violence victims. Additionally, the budget proposes to eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, which provides legal aid to domestic-abuse victims who are married to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
Spivak Law Firm helps victims of domestic violence get the legal protections they need at Protection From Abuse (PFA) hearings and by working with prosecutors on criminal domestic-violence cases. To schedule a consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.