Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/19/2010 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Civil & Legal Needs of Victims of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | SB 277 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 19, 2010
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Hollis French, Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski, Vice Chair
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Dennis Egan
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator John Coghill
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 277
"An Act exempting from regulation by the Regulatory Commission
of Alaska and by municipalities generators of electricity from
renewable energy resources that sell electricity to regulated
utilities."
BILL HEARING POSTPONED
Presentation: Civil & Legal Needs of Victims of Domestic
Violence & Sexual Assault
HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
LAUREE MORTON, Program Coordinator
Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) and
STOP Coordinator for the state of Alaska.
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information about STOP, a federal
funding stream to support projects that respond to domestic
violence and sexual assault in Alaska, and highlighted the need
for state funding.
KARI ROBINSON, Director and Staff Attorney
Legal Advocacy Project (LAP)
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information about the Legal
Advocacy Project and the Alaska Immigration Justice Project and
highlighted the lack of state funding.
ANNE BENNETT, Legal Advocate
AWARE Inc. (Aiding Women in Abuse Rape Emergencies)
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about her role as a legal
advocate for victims of stalking, sexual assault, and domestic
violence.
JENN KING, Staff Attorney
ANDVSA, Legal Advocacy Project
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified that she provides statewide
representation to victims of domestic violence and sexual
assault.
DAN RODGERS, Pro Bono attorney
Alaska Immigration Justice Project
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about his role as pro bono
attorney for AIJP and highlighted the need for additional staff
attorneys.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:33:26 PM
CHAIR HOLLIS FRENCH called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. Senators Wielechowski
and French were present at the call to order.
^CIVIL & LEGAL NEEDS OF VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL
ASSAULT
1:33:52 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced the business before the committee is to
hear about the issues that the Women's Summit has been
discussing this week.
1:34:19 PM
LAUREE MORTON, Program Coordinator, Council on Domestic Violence
and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) said she is also the Violence against
Women Act STOP administrator for Alaska. She provided the
following testimony:
STOP (Services*Training*Officers*Prosecutors) is a
federal funding stream through which the Council
supports various projects to strengthen Alaska's
response to domestic violence and sexual assault.
Since STOP funds first became available to states in
1996, Alaska has focused on expanding legal advocacy
and legal services to victims, so I appreciate this
opportunity to advise you of our progress and let you
know what still needs to be done.
Battered women seeking to safeguard themselves against
recurring violence are often uninformed about legal
resources available to facilitate an end to the
violence being perpetrated against them. Many victims
of sexual assault are also unfamiliar with the justice
system and the way in which cases are handled.
Unfortunately, when victims have evaluated their
options and elected the legal remedies best suited to
meet their needs, they often face legal proceedings
without the benefit of counsel.
You will hear today from attorneys and a legal
advocate on the front lines. Over the past fourteen
years, Kari Robinson, the Legal Advocacy Project (LAP)
Director, has developed a nationally recognized
project. The LAP provides training and technical
assistance to legal advocates based in community
victim service agencies; runs an information and
referral hotline staffed by volunteer attorneys; edits
and publishes the Alaska Women's Legal Right Handbook;
and coordinates the pro bono program. Anne Bennett
works as a legal advocate at Juneau's victim service
agency, AWARE (Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape
Emergencies). Jennifer King is a staff attorney with
the Pro Bono Program. The Pro Bono Program screens and
accepts case referrals from community victim service
programs across the state - matching pro bono
attorneys with victims in need; mentors attorneys
willing to take on pro bono cases; and trains
attorneys through an annual continuing legal education
conference to be better equipped to handle these often
complex cases. As a board member of the Alaska
Immigration Justice Project, Ms. Robinson will also
briefly discuss the legal assistance available to
immigrant victims of domestic violence and sexual
assault.
1:37:29 PM
KARI ROBINSON, Director and Staff Attorney, Alaska Network on
Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), Legal Advocacy
Project (LAP), stated that the need for civil legal
representation continues to be identified as a top priority to
meet victims' needs. The LAP mission is to increase the ability
of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to
effectively access and participate in the civil and criminal
justice systems.
MS. ROBINSON highlighted the extremely high rates of sexual
assault and domestic violence in Alaska, and said the Legal
Advocacy Project is committed to ensuring that every child has a
safe place to go. She noted that a landmark study found that
increasing the provision for legal services was critical to
reduce domestic violence rates. Because legal services help
victims with matters such as protective orders, custody, and
child support, this provides victims with long-term options to
enhance their safety.
For the past 12 years the ANDVSA Legal Advocacy Project and the
Alaska Immigration Justice Project (AIJP) have partnered with
the Alaska Legal Services to meet critical needs for victims.
Unfortunately, the demand for legal services exceeds the
available resources. In the past 6 months there has been a 70
percent increase in the referrals for victims needing help with
family law issues such as custody and visitation. The LAP helps
break the cycle of violence by making safe custody and
visitation agreements.
1:40:18 PM
MS. ROBINSON relayed that Jaffe and Sudermann reported in 1995
that children who witness abuse are more likely to exhibit
behavioral and health problems including anxiety, depression,
and violence toward peers. Clearly, preventing violence and
keeping families safe is a wise investment for Alaska's future.
1:40:55 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked how many cases are turned away each week due
to a lack of legal resources.
MS. ROBINSON replied the Legal Advocacy Project has 3 staff
attorneys, but only half of those have active cases. The project
has about 300 pro bono attorneys, which isn't enough to meet the
need. Since the LAP started, it has received 2,000 referrals for
legal assistance. Alaska Legal Services has had budgetary cuts
at the federal level and the state funding is insufficient to
meet the need.
1:42:03 PM
ANNE BENNETT, Legal Advocate, AWARE Inc. (Aiding Women in Abuse
Rape Emergencies) said she meets with between 30 and 40 program
participants each month regarding their legal needs. Safety is
the most important issue. Participants may need help with a
protective order for stalking, sexual assault, or domestic
violence. Unfortunately, divorce and custody issues are often
associated with that as women leave the relationship. On
occasion she also works with immigrants on passport/visa issues
and a variety of other legal questions.
MS. BENNETT explained that AWARE is part of the statewide sexual
assault response team so they respond and provide services when
a sexual assault victim comes to the hospital. As a legal
advocate she follows up and helps facilitate communication
between the victim and investigating law enforcement,
prosecuting attorneys, and the Victims of Violent Crimes
Compensation Board. She also provides support through the
criminal justice system attending hearings and accompanying the
victim if they have to testify in a trial or before a grand
jury. She noted that most of the women she works with are
victims of domestic abuse. AWARE provides a safe place for these
women to discuss the options to get their children and
themselves to safety.
MS. BENNETT said she also works with women whose abusers have
been arrested. She explains the criminal justice system to these
victims, accompanies them to court, and helps them write a
victim's statement or whatever needs to be done. Whether it's a
civil or criminal case, her job is to explain the legal system
and provides support as the victim works through difficult
changes to get herself to safety. She also provides referrals
for legal representation. She is grateful that pro bono
attorneys are available through the Legal Advocacy Project and
Alaska Legal Services because these cases can be very
complicated. However, the need for legal services often far
exceeds the supply.
1:45:07 PM
MS. BENNETT said that in cases of domestic violence women often
don't have control over their finances so they don't have quick
access to money to hire an attorney. She noted that
representation in a long-term protective order hearing costs
between $2,500 and $5,000. A contested divorce often costs
between $15,000 and $20,000. The problem with domestic violence
cases is that the abusers often bring their power and control
tactics into court. They litigate endlessly and cause delays
causing the cases to drag on for years. Legal representation in
these cases costs into the $100,000 range.
MS. BENNETT said she works with women in many different economic
and ethnic classes and almost none have the funding available in
a short period of time to provide civil legal representation. Of
40 referrals she made between October and December 2009, one
person had the funding available to hire a private attorney and
one borrowed the money from a friend. Alaska Legal Services
isn't taking any family law referrals currently because of
funding cuts so the only referral available is the ANDVSA pro
bono program. Other statewide advocates include the screening
process.
MS. BENNETT said that what keeps her motivated is that she is
able to find help for victims to stay safe in the community. She
cited a recent example of a young woman with a child who went to
AWARE and is doing everything she can to get herself and her
child in a safe situation and prevent abuse from happening in
the future. She does not have the thousands of dollars that is
necessary for legal representation. Ms. Bennett said she was
eager to speak today to amplify the critical need for civil
legal representation.
1:49:28 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if she focuses on Juneau cases or cases from
all of Southeast.
MS. BENNETT replied she focuses on northern Southeast, but she
gets calls from all over. AWARE serves Juneau the nine
surrounding communities of Haines, Skagway, Yakutat, Pelican,
Elfin Cove, Gustavus, Hoonah, [and Tenakee Springs]. The
shelters in Sitka and Ketchikan serve other communities.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if she finds that there's more pro bono help
in Juneau than in other regions in the state.
MS. BENNETT deferred the question to Christine, Kari, or Jenn
who are doing the attorney representation.
1:51:14 PM
JENN KING, Staff Attorney, ANDVSA, Legal Advocacy Project, said
she provides statewide representation to victims of domestic
violence and sexual assault. She relayed that anyone who is a
victim of domestic violence may apply to the pro bono program.
Because there are so many applicants, there is a priority
placement system.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if she makes the placement decisions.
MS. KING replied she is part of the five-member triage. They
meet every week to ten days to review the applications and do
telephonic or in-person interviews. Typically they ask whether
the survivor has children, the current threat of harm to the
children, how lethal the abuse was, and if there was a sudden
increase in the intensity of domestic violence. The team also
looks at whether the survivor has limitations that would make it
more challenging to access the justice system, such as limited
English capabilities or cognitive or developmental delays.
She said that because domestic violence touches all aspects of a
survivor's life, many volunteer attorneys are willing to do
cases outside the context of family law. Those cases are
somewhat easier to place with pro bono attorneys because they
are less time consuming than family law or a protective order
case with associated domestic violence or sexual assault. The
last question they ask is whether the person would work well
with the volunteer attorneys.
The Legal Advocacy Project has had about 2,000 referrals to the
program since inception in May 1999. Each year 60 percent of the
cases are placed with volunteer attorneys.
CHAIR FRENCH asked what happens to the remaining 40 percent of
cases.
MS. KING replied there are a variety of reasons that they aren't
placed. Some women chose to remain in the relationship so they
no longer need legal services; some women may be over the income
guidelines; and sometimes they can't find a pro bono attorney
because the case will likely be very lengthy.
MS. KING said that in cooperation with the Alaska Bar
Association they have provided 12 continuing legal education
trainings for the pool of 300 pro bono attorneys. Over the
lifetime of the program they estimate that these attorneys have
donated millions of dollars in time and legal help. She
recognized that pro bono attorneys Ben Brown and Jim Shine were
in the audience.
1:57:15 PM
MS. KING said the pro bono attorneys are encouraged to work
closely with the legal advocates in each of the member programs
statewide so that the program can provide comprehensive and
holistic representation. To that end they train their legal
advocates to screen, make referrals, provide safety training for
clients, and to provide other supportive services that are
outside the realm of the legal issue. The program also has
funding to train the volunteer attorneys and they try to
maintain relationships with other agencies. These are all
critical to the success of the program, she said. Obviously, it
takes funding to break the cycle of violence so that every child
has a safe place to live, she said.
1:58:28 PM
MS. ROBINSON highlighted that the project hasn't received any
state funding, which limits their ability to meet the need.
She explained that the Alaska Immigration Justice Project is the
only agency in Alaska that is dedicated to protect low-income
immigrants and refugees.
1:59:19 PM
DAN RODGERS, pro bono attorney, Alaska Immigration Justice
Project, said he's been a member of the Alaska bar since 1978
and has been doing pro bono work since he retired two years ago.
Last year the office represented 700 Alaska clients 200 of which
were victims of domestic violence. Often these immigrants are
married to U.S. citizens who have failed to do the necessary
paperwork that would allow their spouse to live or work in this
country, he said. What is worse the abuser often uses the
immigration system as a tool of abuse and threatens to report
their spouse to immigration services.
MR. RODGERS said it's fortunate that Congress amended the
immigration law to include the Violence against Women Act, but
the provisions are complex and they're written in English. When
these victims end up in deportation proceedings they have a
right to representation, but they have to find their own
attorney because there is no public defender. His office helps
these victims by explaining the law, providing qualified
interpreters, preparing the necessary applications and
representing them in immigration court during deportation
proceedings. The office also does outreach and training to
inform immigrants of their rights and to educate law enforcement
and the court about how domestic violence intersects with the
immigration law. The work is intense and time-consuming. He
cited an example. Their office is located in Anchorage but they
have domestic violence clients statewide. The waiting list is
long.
2:03:57 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked how many staff attorneys work at the Alaska
Immigration Justice Project.
MR. RODGERS replied they have two fulltime staff attorneys and
he is a fulltime pro bono attorney.
CHAIR FRENCH asked how many attorneys it would take to fill the
need at either the Legal Advocacy Project or the Alaska
Immigration Justice Project.
2:04:59 PM
MS. ROBINSON thanked him for posing the question and said that
at a minimum they need more experienced staff attorneys because
many of the cases are too time consuming and complex for pro
bono attorneys. She noted that for the first time there are
proposals to provide state funding to their project and that's a
good place to start.
MS. KING reiterated that these cases can be very long and
difficult. She noted that she's had one case continually since
she came to the agency five years ago. "It would be nice to have
more attorneys like that who can take on those difficult cases,"
she said.
2:07:02 PM
MR. RODGERS said the Alaska Immigration Justice Project
desperately needs another staff attorney.
CHAIR FRENCH asked who covers the areas of Fairbanks, Nome and
Bethel.
MS. KING replied Alaska Legal Services has offices in those
areas, but she actually provides a lot of representation in
Fairbanks because the pro bono attorney pool is small. She's
found it similarly difficult to find attorneys in the Homer
area.
CHAIR FRENCH said, for a variety of reasons, it sounds like
other areas of the state don't have the level of community
participation that Juneau enjoys.
MS. KING agreed.
2:08:58 PM
MS. ROBINSON added that while they have very good pro bono
attorneys statewide, the success of the project has been to
provide ongoing training, mentoring, and support for these
attorneys and it takes dedicated staff attorneys to do that. She
reiterated that they have just three attorneys in their office
to serve the entire state and that isn't meeting the
demonstrated need.
CHAIR FRENCH stated that this been valuable to get a feel for
where the state is in terms of providing legal services for a
part of the community that he's had interest in for years.
2:09:56 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair French adjourned the meeting at 2:09 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|