Is there a tilt toward abusers in child custody decisions?
Link to Abstract: Sachs, N. P. (2000). Journal of Psychohistory, 28(2), 203-227. This article discusses why abusers are often favored by personnel in the legal system during child custody disputes. The author proposes some new standards that would reform some of these problems and ensure that children are placed in the custody of the better parent.

Domestic Violence Home Page
The American Bar Association's web site for domestic violence issues. Information for attorneys and survivors. Contains information on protecting privacy for survivors during and after divorce.

Legal Services Online-Main Menu Page
Interactive site walks clients through the procedures for obtaining an order of protection in Georgia courts.

Domestic Violence and the Courtroom
Understanding the Problem and knowing the Victim. The American Judges Foundation.

Stalking Through The Courts
The father's rights movement - how to legally stalk, harass, and intimidate victims of domestic violence after a restraining order has been issued.

Visits in Cases Marked By Violence [Julie Kunce Field]
Legal methods for structuring supervised visitation when there has been violence in the family.

Waikato Law Review: Special Edition on Domestic Violence
Waikato Law Review: Volume 4, Special Edition 1996, Australia

Domestic and Family Violence Resources
The Tribal Court Clearinghouse - Links and Information on Domestic and Family Violence fortribal court personnel, tribal law enforcement personnel, domestic violence victim service agency personnel, social services personnel, and others in handling domestic violence cases and issues.

Domestic Violence: Taking Action FAQ - Nolo's Legal Encyclopedia
How to stop domestic violence.

FindLaw Citations for Shipp and Gates vs. McMahon et al.
Information on Tort claim by woman who asserts denial of equal protection on the part of law enforcement in domestic violence case in Louisiana.

Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE)
WEAVE provides holistic services, including legal representation, counseling, and social services, to victims of domestic violence.

Domestic Violence: Civil Liability FAQ - Nolo's Legal Encyclopedia
Information about taking legal action against your abuser.

Battered Women and Their Children
Kathleen Waits, Houston Law Review, 1998, Symposium: Domestic Violence and the Health Care System - A personal story of one battered woman's experience in the family court system.

Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings, and Recommendations
Final Report of the Child Custody and Visitation Focus Group

Women's Law Initiative
In this website, you will find state-by-state domestic violence legal and procedural information.

Never Again Foundation
An agency claiming to provide free legal help to women who have been abused or sexually assaulted. No information is provided on officers or directors of this entity. Proceed with caution.

Battered Women's Justice Project
The Battered Women's Justice Project (BWJP) is a collaborative effort of three nationally respected organizations that have pioneered innovative civil and criminal justice responses to domestic violence. Maintains resource library of materials related to domestic violence and the justice system.

Domestic Violence and the Provocation Defence
Arguments against the use of the "loss of control" or provocation defence. Published by Zero Tolerance Against Violence, Canada

Reforming Criminal Code Defences: Provocation, Self-Defence and The Defence of Property (Canada)
The defences of provocation, self-defence, and defence of property are frequently invoked in the context of crimes involving the use of force. Canada's laws for these defences have remained virtually unchanged for over a hundred years. Their application and meaning have been refined by decades of judicial interpretation, but the defences are still governed by the language of the Criminal Code. Many individuals and groups believe that these defences reflect archaic and outmoded values and principles and that they need to be reformulated to address modern concerns and realities, particularly in the domestic sphere.

Stop Excusing Violence Against Women - NAWL's Brief on Defence of Provocation
National Association of Women and the Law (Canada)

Domestic Violence Notepad: A listing of resources
Provides links to articles, legal help, resources to help victims of domestic violence.

Macias Case Expert Witness Declaration
Testimony in the wrongful-death suit of Macias vs. Sheriff Mark Ihde et al. Maria Teresa Macias was shot and killed by her estranged husband after repeated requests to enforce a restraining order were ignored by the Sonoma County, California, sheriff's department.

Domestic Violence Court Builds on Drug Court Model
Join Together Organization news article

The NIJ Research Review: NCJ Number 184752
Test of the Efficacy of Court-Mandated Counseling for Domestic Violence Offenders: The Broward Experiment NCJ Number: 184752 Author: Lynette Feder ; David R. Forde Sponsor: National Institute of Justice US Dept of Justice

National Alliance for Family Court Justice
The National Alliance For Family Court Justice, founded in 1993 by Elisabeth Richards of Annandale,Virginia, is an international group of volunteers dedicated to addressing system failure in the courts and social services resulting in retaliation against non-offending parents who complain of family abuse, especially mothers of children who disclose sexual abuse.

Early Identification of Risk Factors for Parental Abduction OJJDP Publications - General Resources
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.

How to Write a Letter to the Judge for Victims of Rape, Domestic Violence, and Child Abuse
Women's Justice Center

Educating To End Domestic Violence
A Law School Report by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence. Produced with the support of the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice

Validity and Use of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in Criminal Trials
Report to Congress on battered women's syndrome. Published jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental Health.

Employment Rights for Survivors of Abuse
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund helps abused women escape the cycle of violence by advocating for their employment rights through its Employment Rights for Survivors of Abuse project.

Sanctuary for Families - Legal Center
News and court opinions from an agency in New York State working for the rights of women an children in families where abuse occurs.

Louisiana Protective Order Registry
The Louisiana Protective Order Registry (LPOR) is a project of the Judicial Administrator's Office of the Louisiana Supreme Court.  This computerized database was established by state legislation in 1997 and serves as a repository for temporary restraining orders, protective orders, preliminary and permanent injunctions, court approved consent agreements, peace bonds, bail restrictions, sentencing orders, and probation conditions issued for the purpose of preventing harassment, threats, or violence against an intimate partner or family member.

Domestic Violence Safety Plan
Safety tips for victims of domestic violence from the American Bar Association. Includes information in Spanish.

Michigan vs. Kurr
Appeal granted to woman convicted of manslaughter on grounds of defense of others. Defendant was pregnant when she stabbed boyfriend who had assaulted her.

Opinion: Supreme Court, State of Iowa - Re: Issues of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens.
Nathan Bartsch, a nonresident of Iowa, appeared specially in an Iowa domestic-abuse case under Iowa Code chapter 236 (1999) to challenge the courtÕs personal jurisdiction over him. The court agreed it did not have personal jurisdiction but concluded that, for purposes of entering a protective order under chapter 236, personal jurisdiction was not required. The court also denied NathanÕs motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens.

Domestic Violence Organizations Online: Risks, Ethical Dilemmas, and Liability Issues
Violence Against Women Online Resources - University of Michigan

US v. BUNNELL
Protection order and firearm possession case law.

Helping With Domestic Violence: Legal Barriers to Serving Teens in Illinois
Center for Impact Research

Domeestic Violence Medical Records
An essay from the Harvard School on Public Health discussing the importance of medical records in domestic violence legal cases.

Understanding the Batterer in Custody and Visitation Disputes
Article by Lundy Bancroft in pdf format.

Innocent Spouse Tax Relief
Information from the IRS on help for spouses who have tax liability because of erroneous filing by a partner. Batterers may threaten to use legal issues such as tax liability against partners to keep them from leaving or requesting equitable child support. The IRS offers help with this filing option. Spouses in danger can be protected from batterers' learning their current address or other identifying information. Consult IRS offices for information.

Increasing Your Safety: Full Fiath and Credit for Protection Orders
Developed and Distributed by National Center on Full Faith and Credit, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. This guide is for you or someone you know who has a protection order and who may travel across state, territorial or tribal lines. It is intended to help you use the full faith and credit provision of the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. It also explains the federal law and offers ideas about where to get help if you have problems with enforcement of your protection order.

Brandt v. Brant - Michigan Court of Appeals
Decision upholding no contact order restricting parents' contact with children with order of protection in place.

San Diego City Attorney - Domestic Violence Unit
Information on domestic violence,stalking, and legal strategies for prosecution of crimes involving relationship violence.

Power Inequality and Dissociated Coercion in the Mediation of Interpersonal and Domestic Disputes: Recognition and Response
Article by Jennifer P. Maxwell, Ph.D., 1998

Domestic Violence - Mediation Policy in Domestic Violence
The American Bar Association recommends that court-mandated mediation include an opt-out prerogative in any action in which one party has perpetrated domestic violence upon the other party.

The Battered Mothers' Testimony Project: A Human Rights Report on Child Custody & Domestic Violence in Massachusetts.
Published by the Women's Rights Network, Wellesley Centers for Women. A human rights report on child custody and domestic violence issues

New Mexico Judicial Education Center Domestic Violence Benchbook
Interactive learning tool for domestic violence, including he applicable requirements of state and federal laws and court cases. It provides information on the dynamics of domestic violence, explains the process governing orders of protection, describes how domestic violence can affect a variety of civil and criminal cases, and addresses pretrial, trial and sentencing issues.

Domestic and Family Violence: Criminal Justice Interventions
Paper by Robyn Holder which explores some of the contemporary debates and dilemmas in implementing criminal justice reform in the area of domestic violence. From the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse.