M. Jill Dykes GAL, Topeka, Kansas: September 2011

9.23.2011

Topeka Kansas: Failure to Protect Violates Statutes

The hour heated up in the Zeus Radio Studio starting with a discussion about the city of Topeka , KS decision to stop prosecuting domestic violence cases with my suggestion that the District Attorney obtain permits and go into the cemetery business. The city of Topeka is throwing victims' lives to the wolves disguised in sheep's clothing, more commonly known as the violent offenders.

The city is hiding behind the budget because frankly Kansas does not see intimate partner violence a crime.

The Shawnee County press release: September 15, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dakota Loomis • 785.438.9449

Shawnee County DA’s Office and City of Topeka Working to Resolve Misdemeanor Case Filings

__________________________________________

Released in Cooperation with David Bevens · City of Topeka · City Communications Manager · 785.368.1642

Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor and Interim City Manager Dan Stanley met today to discuss the prosecution of misdemeanor cases occurring within Topeka city limits. The meeting centered on how best to preserve public safety given recent budget cuts sustained by the District Attorney’s Office. Both the District Attorney’s Office and the City of Topeka are hopeful that an amicable agreement will be reached shortly that will be in the best interest of all Topekans. Discussions will continue over the course of the next few days and will focus on crafting a mutually agreed upon resolution that will ensure the efficient prosecution of all city misdemeanors.

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Translation if your dog bites someone you will be prosecuted. If you spouse or significant other threatens or causes significant bodily injury, you are out of luck!

According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence, current data, there are16,800 homicides (reported)attributed to intimate partner homicide per year and $2.2 million in medically treated injuries costing $37 billion per year!

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Is Topeka Kansas in violation of their very own State Statues?

22-2307 : Domestic violence calls; written policies to be adopted by law enforcement agencies; contents. (a) All law enforcement agencies in this state shall adopt written policies regarding domestic violence calls as provided in subsection (b). These policies shall be made available to all officers of such agency.(b) Such written policies shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A statement directing that the officers shall make an arrest when they have probable cause to believe that a crime is being committed or has been committed;
(2) a statement defining domestic violence;
(3) a statement describing the dispatchers' responsibilities;
(4) a statement describing the responding officers' responsibilities and procedures to follow when responding to a domestic violence call and the suspect is at the scene;
(5) a statement regarding procedures when the suspect has left the scene of the crime;
(6) procedures for both misdemeanor and felony cases;
(7) procedures for law enforcement officers to follow when handling domestic violence calls involving court orders, including protection from abuse orders, restraining orders and a protective order issued by a court of any state or Indian tribe;
(8) a statement that the law enforcement agency shall provide the following information to victims, in writing:
(A) Availability of emergency and medical telephone numbers, if needed;
(B) the law enforcement agency's report number;
(C) the address and telephone number of the prosecutor's office the victim should contact to obtain information about victims' rights pursuant to K.S.A. 74-7333 and 74-7335 and amendments thereto;
(D) the name and address of the crime victims' compensation board and information about possible compensation benefits;
(E) advise the victim that the details of the crime may be made public;
(F) advise the victim of such victims' rights under K.S.A. 74-7333 and 74-7335 and amendments thereto; and
(G) advise the victim of known available resources which may assist the victim; and
(9) whether an arrest is made or not, a standard offense report shall be completed on all such incidents and sent to the Kansas bureau of investigation.
History: L. 1991, ch. 93, § 1; L. 1996, ch. 208, § 3; July 1.

Below is the show I urge everyone to listen. Can a class action suit be filed in the State of Kansas for failure per the current statutes? It is worth investigating? In the coming months we will gather a team of legal experts to visit and review at the Federal level and the State of Kansas's "failure to protect."

Attorney and Author Barry Goldstein and National Advocate and Mothers Without Custody Expert Claudine Dombrowski

Sep 22, 2011

To listen to Show CLICK HERE --------> Susan Murphy Milano: TIME'S UP!! 9-22-2011

Download Podcast - Susan Murphy Milano: TIME'S UP!! 9-22-2011
Right mouse click and choose "save as" or "save link as" to download a podcast mp3 file to your computer.

A victims first scream is help;

A victims second scream is justice

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Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education . She is a specialist with intimate partner violence cases and prevention strategies and high risk cases and available for personal consultations through the Institute. She is also part of the team at Management Resources Limited of New York.
Susan is the author of "Time's Up: A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships,"Moving out, Moving on, and Defending Out Lives. Susan is the host ofThe Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time's Up!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show " with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire .
If you would like to schedule Susan Murphy Milano for interviews, please contact: ImaginePublicity PO BOX 14946 Surfside Beach, SC 29587 Phone: 843.808.0859 email- contact@imaginepublicity.com

9.20.2011

Imagine Publicity: “Wounded Warrior” Claudine Dombrowski and Activist Barry Goldstein Join The Susan Murphy Milano Show, Time’s Up

MARKETING.PROMOTIONS.PUBLICITY

http://imaginepublicity.com/2011/09/18/wounded-warrior-claudine-dombrowski-and-activist-barry-goldstein-join-the-susan-murphy-milano-show-times-up/

SUSAN MURPHY MILANO

“Wounded Warrior” Claudine Dombrowski and Activist Barry Goldstein Join The Susan Murphy Milano Show, Time’s Up

The Susan Murphy Milano Show, “Time’s Up!”

Thursday, September 22, 2pm ET

Listen LIVE at: Here Women Talk

Claudine Dombrowski could very well be considered a “Wounded Warrior” in the fight against intimate partner violence. Fighting her personal battle against her abuser for over 16 years, she’s also taken her fight across the nation helping several other battered mothers who have lost custody of their beloved children to the very person who abused them.

In a recent development in her own backyard in Shawnee County, KS, District Attorney Chad Taylor decided to hand over misdemeanor cases, like Claudine Dombrowski’s, to the city, due to funding issues. Dombrowski knew the ones to pay the price for this decision would be those caught in the crosshairs of the abuser’s rage when released, and has taken her outrage to the media.( http://imaginepublicity.com/2011/09/15/the-lights-went-out-in-topeka-for-victims-of-domestic-violence-claudine-dombrowski-speaks-out/)

Through organizing globally, Claudine Dombrowski, and other battered mothers, have founded American/Australia Mothers Political Party to bring attention and educate others. Through combining their online efforts across the globe, they are able to link together, not always physically, but by forming groups through the wonders of technology and carrying their message far and wide.

Barry Goldstein has fought battles in the trenches and the courtrooms in an attempt to keep battered women from losing their treasure, their children. He continues to work with agencies and educators and has joined his expertise with others in the battle against violence in the home. Goldstein is a nationally recognized domestic violence expert, speaker, writer and consultant. He is the co-editor with Mo Therese Hannah of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY. Barry can be reached by email at their web site www.Domesticviolenceabuseandchildcustody.com

BARRY GOLDSTEIN, attorney, teacher, author and advocate for women abused by their partner (and too often the courts) has written a book for women seeking to leave their abusers and for their friends, family, supporters and advocates. SCARED TO LEAVE AFRAID TO STAY Paths From Family Violence to Safety tells the story of ten women as they left their abusers seeking a better life. The book shows in these abuse cases how courts handle legal issues such as orders of protection, custody, visitation, support, marital property and criminal prosecutions. It tells about the resourcesavailable for women seeking to leave their abuser. Click the links to learn more about the book, author or to view frequently asked questions (FAQs). The book is published byRobert D. Reed Publishers and is available at book stores online and off.

9.19.2011

A Hard Hit to DV Victims by The Criminal Justice System in Kansas

http://www.examiner.com/domestic-violence-abuse-in-honolulu/claudine

Dara Carlin, M.A.

, Honolulu Domestic Violence & Abuse Examiner

It's Actually Come Down To This

Until recent years Civics, Democracy and Criminal Justice were only topics from a class that I was supposed to be paying attention to when I was in high school. Unable to see how any of it was going to really matter or have anything to do with my life, I opted to half-listen, paying just enough attention to catch the main concepts but spent more time passing notes, daydreaming and doodling the time away until the bell would release me from my imprisonment.

I got that a misdemeanor wasn’t as bad as a felony and figured if I just steered clear of both, I should have no problem. For those of you who were as interested as I was in high school about the criminal justice system, I offer you the following crash course before laying out what the newest alert is (so you can be as concerned about it as I am!)

While a misdemeanor is better known as “a lesser crime” in comparison to a felony the distinction goes just a tad bit further in that a misdemeanor is actually defined as a crime that could land a person in jail for less then a year as opposed to a felony that’s actually defined as a crime that could land a person in jail for more then a year.

Murder is unanimously held as a felony across the United States, but otherwise the definition of crimes occurs at the state level. So, for example, while it may seem that strangulation would be considered a felony (a more serious crime) it didn’t become a Class C felony (a sentence that can carry up to 5 years in jail) in Hawaii until relatively recently (2006). Prior to 2006, can you imagine being strangled then being told it’s “just” a misdemeanor?

Even more disillusioning is landing/finding oneself in the criminal justice system (that has very little resemblance to what you see on “Law & Order”). Actually, my brother-in-law (a corrections officer) and I recently ruined a criminal justice-related movie for my sister when we each piped up instinctually with “They can’t do that” or “That’d NEVER happen” comments throughout the movie and totally ruined it for my sister who was just trying to enjoy it for the plot and storyline. (Sorry!)

In real-life, what’s supposed to happen when a crime occurs is someone notifies the police about “the offense” (proper terminology) and then the police will do an investigation (talk to the victim and/or alleged perpetrator if possible, gather evidence, interview witnesses, etc.) the findings of which will all this go into a report. For simplicity’s sake, let’s say this is a misdemeanor where the alleged perpetrator is not arrested for whatever s/he’s been accused of. The completed report then gets forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office for review where the Prosecutor (called a District Attorney in other jurisdictions) will decide whether the offense contains enough merit to be prosecuted or not.

Here’s a critical piece of information that many don’t realize: if the Prosecutor accepts the case and moves forward on it, the case “belongs” to the state NOT the victim whose been wronged; the victim becomes a witness for the state/prosecution.

Why is this important? Because in many domestic violence cases where the abuser is ignorant to all this, the abuser thinks that the victim can “call off” the Prosecution or that the victim has the ability to simply “drop” the case – neither of which are true – but from his perspective what’s true is irrelevant; what she does (or doesn’t do) is. Can you see how this could shape up to be a pretty dangerous situation if an offense has occurred, the abuser HASN’T been arrested and then the Prosecutor decides to take the case?

Next step: court. This is where the abuser enters a plea of either guilt, no contest (not admitting guilt but not proclaiming innocence either) or not guilty to what s/he’s being accused of. If the abuser says “Not guilty” the next step is a trial where witnesses and evidence can be presented by the Prosecution and Defense BUT before the plea is formally entered a couple of “strange things” can happen…

The Defense OR Prosecution can propose a plea bargain where the abuser is afforded the opportunity to "plea down" to a lesser offense, ie: a domestic violence offense being reduced to harassment. Plea bargains can be offered for a number of reasons, but the long-term consequences of a plea down from domestic violence doesn’t work well in addressing or rectifying the problem of DV. If an abuser pleas down to harassment (for example) then there’s “no domestic violence” = no DV intervention services, the abuser will not reflect a DV history stemming from the offense and the record will not count the case as a DV one which can mislead the public in terms of misrepresenting the size of the problem (DV in the community isn’t as big of a problem as harassment is).

Similar to dropping the case, the victim has no say or influence over plea bargaining (so if you’ve had the courage to take your case “all the way” and have cooperated with the Prosecution, can you imagine how it’d feel to be told by the Prosecution that your case has been “settled” because THE ABUSER'S agreeing to call what he did to you "harassment" rather than DV? That instead of going to jail, the abuser has agreed to community service hours instead? But it could be worse...

How do you think it would feel as a victim if your DV case ended before it even started? That after mustering up the courage to report to police who dutifully submitted their report to the Prosecutors, that it was turned away NOT for lack of evidence or witnesses but due to lack of funding? (And how do you think your abuser's going to feel knowing that you turned him in, tried to have him put away but failed so now he's free to "talk" to you about it?)

Or suppose the judge just released your abuser from custody saying “Awww, forget it, case dismissed” because s/he knew that the Prosecution wasn’t going to/couldn’t afford to prosecute it? If that sounds like an improbable breakdown in our criminal justice system, check out what’s just gone down in Topeka, Kansas: http://www.kansasfirstnews.com/news/local/story/Topeka-domestic-abuse-survivor-trembling-over-DAs/sgAbRRlYaE2M6ljJGYtzFA.cspx

Our criminal justice system was not founded upon dollars and cents and last I knew justice isn't supposed to be decided after a cost-benefit analysis, but Kansas has just set a terrifying precedent by telling domestic violence victims that their lives - and the crimes committed against them - aren't worth their state's time, money or effort. This is a sad day for domestic violence victims in Kansas and a day that I hope will never dawn here in Hawaii.

For a more formal/thorough explanation of the misdemeanor/felony processes in Hawaii, go to http://www1.honolulu.gov/prosecuting/flowchart.htm

9.16.2011

Topeka, Kansas - Domestic Abuse Survivor Trembling Over DA's Decision to Pass Down Misdemeanors DV is NOT A CRIME in TOPEKA, KANSAS

PLEASE COMMENT ON ORIGINAL ARTICLE! We need OUTRAGE to stop this political game playing at the expense of women.

Right now in Topeka Kansas—DOMESTIC VIOLENCE is LEGAL. Since last week’s decision of the County DA to stop prosecuting Domestic Violence in the city limits, there have been 35 Domestic Violence arrests that have WALKED with no charges!

The City manager is considering a repeal in the City Ordinances that Domestic Violence is NOT A CRIME within the city. http://bit.ly/nCxc5M

http://www.kansasfirstnews.com/news/local/story/Topeka-domestic-abuse-survivor-trembling-over-DAs/sgAbRRlYaE2M6ljJGYtzFA.cspx#

Topeka domestic abuse survivor trembling over DA's decision to pass down misdemeanors -

Topeka domestic abuse survivor trembling over DA's decision to pass down misdemeanors

http://www.kansasfirstnews.com/news/local/story/Topeka-domestic-abuse-survivor-trembling-over-DAs/sgAbRRlYaE2M6ljJGYtzFA.cspx#

16 years after enduring constant physical abuse, the memories still shake Claudine Dombrowski to the core. She says, "I was beaten with a crowbar, it was a misdemeanor. I've had both my wrist broken and it was a misdemeanor."

Dombrowski says she's disgusted at how poorly survivors are treated after making the terrifying decision to call authorities. She says community leaders see it as, "Let's put these victims in with weed control and dog at large and parking tickets. That's how important you are to our community."

Dombrowski says the word "misdemeanor" has such a harmless connotation and wishes people knew the horrible actions hiding behind it. She says, "I was pushed through plate glass windows and if I had not been in a relationship with this man, he would be in prison."

If the city does decide to take on the domestic abuse cases, Dombrowski hopes it's only until funding can be restored at the District Attorney's office. She says, "We've just jumped back 30 years into the dark ages, and it's very dark. The lights just went out in Topeka."

She says many times the misdemeanor charges get reduced to disorderly conduct and destruction of personal property, and she can't imagine how easy the abusers will have it in city courts. Dowbrowski says you can help domestic violence victims of Topeka by demanding more money for the District Attorney's office, so they can continue to protect the public.

UPDATE:
Wednesday morning, Topeka Interim City Manager Dan Stanley said there is some thought being given to repealing the city ordinances to force the prosecution back on the county. He says it will then be up to the D.A. to prioritize what cases should be prosecuted.
Stanley says he's concerned about what will happen to the individuals whose cases are not being prosecuted. He says, "We know of three cases where judges have released the people accused of domestic violence back out because it their understanding that the district attorney will not prosecute and so there may be more of these."

Topeka Police Officers are forwarding misdemeanor cases involving domestic violence to the District Attorney's Office. Stanley says the D.A.'s office has already turned away 30 cases. He believes the victims and their families are most affected.

9.15.2011

Topeka Domestic Abuse Survivor Claudine Dombrowski Trembling Over DA's Decision to Pass Down Misdemeanors

Topeka domestic abuse survivor trembling over DA's decision to pass down misdemeanors -

Topeka domestic abuse survivor trembling over DA's decision to pass down misdemeanors

http://www.kansasfirstnews.com/news/local/story/Topeka-domestic-abuse-survivor-trembling-over-DAs/sgAbRRlYaE2M6ljJGYtzFA.cspx#

When Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor decided to hand over misdemeanor cases, like Dombrowski's, to the city, she knew it would weigh heaviest on victims of domestic violence. Knowing the consequences a victim could face when the abuser is arrested, then released, she advises victims not to call the police. She says, "You, as a survivor, know how to survive. You just keep surviving. If you call the police right now, and God forbid you end up with the city, you might die."
Dombrowski says she's disgusted at how poorly survivors are treated after making the terrifying decision to call authorities. She says community leaders see it as, "Let's put these victims in with weed control and dog at large and parking tickets. That's how important you are to our community."