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Domestic Violence and the “Boyfriend Loophole”
Existing federal law forbids people convicted of domestic violence against a current or former spouse to buy or own a firearm.
But what if the abuse was perpetrated by an intimate partner who is not your spouse?
Lawmakers may close the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to expand protections for abuse victims.
Efforts to renew the Violence Against Women Act include a provision to prohibit firearm ownership by those convicted of abusing, assaulting or stalking a dating partner, or to those under a restraining order.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate, cost-effective representation. We handle all areas of family law and criminal defense with a special focus on domestic violence, child custody, and Protection From Abuse (PFA).
To schedule a consultation, call Spivak Law Firm 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.
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.
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.
What If A Person Lies To Get A PFA?
At Spivak Law Firm, we provide strong, aggressive defense at Protection From Abuse (PFA) hearings in Pittsburgh and all surrounding counties, including: Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Indiana, Mercer, Washington, and Westmoreland.
Our clients often ask us if the alleged victim will face any consequences for lying or exaggerating to the court in order to obtain the Temporary PFA order.
Unfortunately, in our experience, the answer is: no.
People falsely accused of abuse may file a complaint with the police, but the district attorney’s office is unlikely to prosecute for fear of having a chilling effect on other people seeking protection.
Even in extreme circumstances, district attorney’s offices rarely prosecute plaintiffs who have filed repeated PFA petitions in multiple counties with outrageous, unsubstantiated accusations that are later dismissed.
It is commonly known that some people abuse the PFA system in order to gain leverage in a divorce or child custody action.
At Spivak Law Firm, we handle all family law and criminal defense matters, including: PFA defense, criminal domestic violence defense, divorce, child custody, child support, and criminal record expungements.
To schedule a free consultation with an experienced PFA defense attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Prepare for Your PFA Hearing
If a Protection from Abuse Order (PFA) has been filed against you, it is important to begin preparing your defense as soon as possible. The person who filed against you will be prepared to testify and present evidence, so it is important that you present testimony and evidence to rebut the accusations against you.
Preserve text messages, emails, voicemails, and audio recordings that tend to support your version of events. If you have witnesses who were present at the time of the incident, it is important that they appear at the hearing to support your position.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive defense at PFA hearings in Pittsburgh and all nearby counties, including: Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland.
If you’ve been served with a PFA order, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA and Criminal Charges
If you’ve been accused of perpetrating domestic violence or child abuse, you may be facing a Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order and criminal charges such as assault, harassment, stalking, or terroristic threats.
At Spivak Law Firm, we generally advise our clients to continue the PFA hearing until after the criminal case is resolved. The district attorney could use the PFA hearing transcript against you in criminal court.
Based in Pittsburgh, Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive representation for clients in Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Indiana County, Greene County, Washington County, and Westmoreland County.
If you face a PFA or criminal domestic-violence charges, call Spivak Law Firm to schedule a free consultation at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Attorney Spivak Honored By Super Lawyers
Todd Spivak, attorney and owner of Spivak Law Firm, has been selected to the 2017 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list.
Super Lawyers reserves this honor “for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice.”
Only 5 percent of attorneys in Pennsylvania receive this distinction.
Attorney Spivak will be featured in Super Lawyers Magazine, Pittsburgh Magazine, and Philadelphia Magazine, reaching more than one million readers.
A former investigative reporter, Attorney Spivak has won numerous national awards and was twice-nominated for The Pulitzer Prize.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Attorney Spivak focuses his practice on all areas of family law and criminal defense with a special focus on Protection From Abuse (PFA) and child custody.
To schedule a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Child Custody & Domestic Abuse
In some extreme cases, mothers seeking to protect their children from abusive fathers are disbelieved by the courts and even sanctioned for parental alienation.
Such outlier cases form the basis of a recently released documentary by filmmaker Rachel Lewis, who spotlights the issue of mothers who have lost custody of their children to abusive fathers. The film warns that violent men can use the court system to further control and intimidate their exes by asserting their child custody rights.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law with a special focus on high-conflict child custody and domestic violence. Call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.