On average, a child who enters care will remain in foster care for 32 months, and only about half will return to their parents. A Criminal Defense Attorney's View
of the Domestic Violence Industry - Page 2
by: Paul G. Stuckle, Esq.
Updated: March 12, 2006
II.
Examples of What is Not Domestic Violence
Table of Contents
Human beings make mistakes and act immaturely at times. Everyone has past conduct
they wish could be taken back. Part of being human is sometimes hurting those loved the
most. The absurdity is to classify a single out of character nonviolent act as
"criminal."
For instance, it is not domestic violence to:
- Yell and scream at our spouse or another household member;
- Use profanity during an argument with a spouse or household member;
- Engage in minor pushing incidents with a spouse or household member;
- Hold the arm or hand of a spouse or household member while arguing;
- Momentarily block the path of a spouse or household member;
- Throw and break items during an argument;
- Say hurtful and mean things to a spouse or household member;
- Use self defense to stop the other spouse or household member from attacking you.
With "Zero Tolerance" arrest policies
and "No Drop" prosecutions, the number of arrests for
petty family arguments
has skyrocketed. A former prosecuting attorney explains the phenomena:
Christopher Pagan, who was until recently a prosecutor in Hamilton County, Ohio, estimates
that due to a 1994 state law requiring police on a domestic call either to make an arrest or
to file a report explaining why a no arrest was made, "domestics" went from 10
percent to 40 percent of his docket. But, he suggests, that doesn't mean actual abusers were
coming to his attention more often.
"We started getting a lot of push-and-shoves," says Pagan, "or even
yelling matches." In the past, police officers would intervene and separate the
parties to let them cool off. Now those cases end up in criminal courts. It's exacerbating
tensions between the parties, and it's turning law-abiding middle class citizens into criminals.
Cathy Young, Vice President, Women's Freedom Network
"Domestic Violations," Reason On Line, April 1998
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