Family Violence Appellate Project

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announcements

Juneteenth

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This Saturday, June 19 is Juneteenth.

“Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.”  -Juneteenth.com

Over the years, Juneteenth has become a time of celebration for the African American community to commemorate freedom and come together.

FVAP is proud to celebrate and center Juneteenth as part of our continued commitment to further racial justice and race equity. We know that the intersection of racial and gender oppression are central to the experiences of many, if not most, of our clients and potential clients, and we all work tirelessly each day to combat these oppressions.



Learn more about Juneteenth at www.Juneteenth.com.

FVAP to Train Court Staff

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FVAP Advisory Board member, Professor Mindy Mechanic, and Staff Attorney, Cory Hernandez, will be presenting a training on June 3 called Domestic Abuse is More than Physical Violence: Examining the Role of Coercive Control. This training will focus on recently enacted Senate Bill 1141, which clarified the definition of “domestic violence” for getting a restraining order and for deciding child custody matters. Now the definition expressly includes coercive control as a form of domestic violence, which further clarifies how
nonphysical forms of harm can constitute abuse under the law.

Please note this training is not open to the public, and any court staff interested in attending should speak with their supervisors.

FVAP is honored to have been asked by the Judicial Council to train court staff.

FVAP Legal Director Shares in Interview Why Biden Must End Former Administration’s Asylum Restrictions for Domestic Violence Survivors

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In an interview last week, FVAP’s Legal Director Nancy K.D. Lemon shared with KQED reporters why former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ restrictions on asylum for survivors of domestic violence threaten women’s rights. In 2018, Sessions refused to provide asylum to a survivor of domestic violence from El Salvador who had been abused by her ex-husband for over a decade, deciding that domestic violence is a private or personal crime and not a qualifying reason for asylum. However, violence against women is a deep-rooted societal problem that demands government intervention, and it’s common for survivors to come to the U.S. seeking refuge from abuse because law enforcement in their home country would not provide help. In fact, FVAP is currently representing a survivor of domestic violence who faced this same barrier to safety before coming to the U.S. We are hopeful that the new administration will loosen the current restrictions so that survivors fleeing abuse can get the safety and justice they deserve. Read more in KQED’s article here.

FVAP Legal Victory Helps Survivors Renew Restraining Orders and Prevent Litigation Abuse

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Today we received news that our request for partial publication of the case In re Marriage of Carlisle was granted! The published opinion states that trial courts have jurisdiction to renew domestic violence restraining orders (DVRO) even when the original DVRO is pending on appeal. This means survivors of abuse can still be protected, even if the restrained party in the case files an appeal of the original restraining order.

This publication is also a victory because it clearly prevents abusers from trying to use appeals of DVROs to postpone renewals of restraining orders, which is litigation abuse.

FVAP joins legal services community to work with CA Dept. of Real Estate to publish DV-informed guide on tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities

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In collaboration with other legal services providers and the California Department of Real Estate, we had the opportunity to contribute to the newly released guide on residential tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities. Our work focused on including the legal rights and responsibilities of survivors and landlords as they relate to survivors obtaining and maintaining safe housing.

Unfortunately, survivors of domestic violence face discrimination by landlords because landlords are not always informed of the special housing rights that survivors have in order to stay safe. We hope that this updated guide will curb the discrimination we have been seeing.