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Bar News - November 22, 2002 The Many Faces of DOVE
SUSAN, A 46-YEAR-OLD wife and mother of a teenage son, is the defendant in a civil restraining order case. She is also charged with simple assault for striking her husband with an alarm clock. John, an 88-year-old man, seeks relief from physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his son. Jane, a 30-year-old mother of three young children, is charged with simple assault for scratching her partner while attempting to rescue her five-month-old child from a dangerous situation. The reality of domestic violence is more complicated than the simple picture of a lone woman cowering at the hands of her abuser. Some victims are male, and some victims are themselves defendants, facing assault or other charges, often for retaliating against their abusers. The NHBA Pro Bono Referral Program’s DOVE Project representation is not based on whether the client has been labeled the "plaintiff" or "defendant." Instead, DOVE’s clients are eligible for assistance because they are victims of abuse, regardless of the labels supplied to them by the system, and because they are unrepresented – typically due to abusive partners controlling the household finances. The stakes for these clients are high, and their circumstances are often difficult. Sometimes, the victims face criminal charges when they retaliate against repeated (and unreported) abuse at the hands of their partners or household members. DOVE clients’ lives, often because of long-term abuse, can be complicated by a host of problems, and they can be challenging clients to represent in many respects. But through training, mentoring and the assistance of domestic violence advocates at the crisis centers, DOVE volunteer attorneys receive support to provide legal representation at a crucial moment in these victims lives as they attempt to break the cycle of violence that has trapped them. In the types of cases mentioned above, the defendants could be represented by the NH Public Defender (if they meet the income guidelines and have requested an attorney), but the scope of that representation would be limited to the criminal charges. "Our representation is very circumscribed," said Christopher Keating, executive director of the NH Public Defender program. "Our legal services are provided within the circumstances of the criminal case, even though these individuals may have many other important issues that they face." The face of domestic violence isn’t pretty, nor does it fit neatly our preconceptions about who is a batterer and who is a victim. Striving to provide equal access to justice isn’t glamorous or always simple. It is, though, gratifying work that needs to be done.
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