Butler County PFA Lawyers
PFA Hearings: Child Testimony
A child under 13-years-old who alleges physical or sexual abuse may not have to testify at a Protection From Abuse (PFA) hearing under Pennsylvania Law.
The Tender Years Hearsay Act allows a psychologist or caseworker from Children Youth and Families (CYF) to testify on the child’s behalf.
The purpose of the Act is to protect children from the added trauma of appearing in court to describe the details of the alleged assault.
New legislation may expand the Act to include children under 17-years-old.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania opposes the bill on grounds that it violates the defendant’s right to due process.
Courts heavily rely on other professionals to determine whether abuse on a child actually occurred.
There may be a forensic interview conducted by a child abuse specialist in the presence of a police detective and a CYF caseworker.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law and criminal defense with a special focus on PFA, domestic abuse and high-conflict child custody.
Call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA Law: 24 Hours to Relinquish Guns
Under Pennsylvania law, a person subjected to a Final Protection From Abuse (PFA) order was given 60 days to turn over his or her firearms.
A new law speeds up the time that people have to relinquish their guns to 24 hours after they have been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic-violence crime or had a Final PFA order approved against them by a judge.
The 24-hour provision intends to close a loophole that exposed domestic-abuse victims to continued risk of violence even after obtaining a PFA order.
The new law applies even in cases of alleged stalking, harassment, and assault where guns were not involved.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong representation at PFA hearings. For more information, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA Orders Affect Hunters and Gun Owners
Under Pennsylvania law, an active Protection From Abuse (PFA) order restricts defendants from possessing firearms.
If you’ve been served with a PFA, you may have to relinquish all your guns.
This is the case even when there are no specific allegations of threatening behavior involving a firearm.
For people who enjoy hunting, the removal of their firearms can be devastating.
In rural counties, judges sometimes try to persuade defendants to accept settlement terms in order to avoid the risk of a final PFA order that could keep them from hunting for as long as three years.
At Spivak Law Firm, we provide strong, aggressive representation at PFA hearings in Pittsburgh and all surrounding counties, including: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Fayette, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Washington and Westmoreland.
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.
Bogus PFAs Turn Lives Upside Down
In many Pennsylvania counties, judges grant more than 90 percent of requests for a Temporary Protection From Abuse (PFA) order.
Judges tend to err on the side of caution, figuring that a person seeking protection must need it. After all, it would be tragic if the person seeking protection wound up injured or worse after a judge denied the PFA.
But judges should also consider how their decision to grant the PFA will affect the accused. Every day, PFA orders evict people from their homes, restrict parents from their children, and threaten people’s jobs and reputations.
At Spivak Law Firm, we are dismayed by some of the PFAs granted by judges based on weak allegations.
For instance, in one recent case, the person seeking protection admitted in her petition that she had not seen or communicated with the accused for a year.
In another recent case, the person awarded protection told the judge that the defendant only communicated with her subliminally.
We were successful in getting both cases dismissed. But the PFAs never should have been granted because the plaintiffs were not in reasonable fear of imminent bodily injury.
They caused unnecessary emotional and financial stress in people who did nothing to warrant a PFA.
At Spivak Law Firm, we provide strong representation at PFA hearings. If you’ve been falsely accused of abuse, call (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.
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.