ATTORNEYS AT LAW 1009 W 7TH AVENUE ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99501 TELEPHONE: (907) 279-4529 FAX: (907) 279-9223
It is an unfortunate reality that many children in Alaska are subject to domestic violence. Fortunately, Alaska courts provide a means for parents and other defined individuals to seek protection for such children.
It may come as a surprise to many that domestic violence does not require acts of physical violence towards another. The state of Alaska has defined domestic violence to include more than physical injury to another. Examples of domestic violence towards children include, but are not limited to:
(1) Physically injuring or threatening to injure a child;
(2) Conducting oneself in a manner that creates the risk of injuring a child;
(3) Taking and/or holding a child without a legal right to do so; and
(4) Sexually abusing a child.
For an act to legally constitute domestic violence towards a child, the act must be committed by either a parent, grandparent, or person that lives in the same dwelling as the child. In turn, only a parent, grandparent, or person that lives in the same dwelling as the child may invoke the court's protective powers in cases of domestic violence towards children.
If a parent, grandparent, or person that lives in the same dwelling as the abused child believes that domestic violence is taking place, they may ask the court for help.
Courts refer to the abused child as the petitioner. An alleged abuser is referred to as the respondent. The parent, grandparent, or person that lives in the same dwelling as the abused child ("petitioner") petitions the court for injunctive relief. The petition is a form that requests the court to restrain the respondent from any further acts of domestic violence against the petitioner.
A petition may request either emergency injunctive relief or non-emergency injunctive relief. When a court receives a petition for non-emergency injunctive relief, the court will schedule a hearing and give the respondent at least ten days notice of the hearing and the respondent's right to appear and be heard in person or by attorney. If the court hearing reveals that the petitioner has been subjected to domestic violence by the respondent, the court may issue any order it determines necessary to protect the health, safety, or welfare of the petitioner. The court may order:
(1) The respondent stop subjecting the child to domestic violence;
(2) That respondent leave the home of the child;
(3) The respondent not to communicate with the child in any manner;
(4) That respondent pay support for the child if there is already a legal obligation for the respondent to do so;
(5) Temporary custody of the child to another;
(6) The respondent to pay the medical costs caused by the domestic violence;
(7) That respondent enter counseling; and/or
(8) That respondent not enter a vehicle occupied by the child.
A court may grant emergency injunctive relief to restrain the respondent from domestically violating the petitioner, without written or oral notice to the respondent, if the court finds that the petitioner has been subjected to domestic violence, that there is a substantial likelihood of immediate danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the child, and that emergency circumstances mandate that notice should not be required.
If an emergency injunction relief order is granted by the court without notice, the respondent may ask the court to dissolve or modify its order for emergency injunctive relief. Like non-emergency injunctive relief, emergency injunctive relief does not preclude any other civil or criminal remedies available.
If an Alaska court issues a non-emergency or emergency injunction for relief from domestic violence, the court shall provide notice of its actions to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. Each law enforcement agency is required to establish procedures to inform their officers of such court actions, and to use all reasonable means to enforce such actions.
Recently the domestic violence laws were modified by the Alaska Legislature in the Domestic Violence Prevention and Victim protection Act of 1996. The Act eliminates the filing fees in domestic violence actions. Among other things, the Act limits the power of the court to order mediation in custody proceedings if a protective order in a domestic violence proceeding is in effect or if a victim objects on the grounds that domestic violence has occurred between the parties.Steven Pradell is an Anchorage attorney with a practice emphasizing family law, including divorce, custody, child support and adoption. © 1997 by Steven Pradell. This article is not intended to provide legal advice and should not be relied on for that purpose.
The law office of Pradell and Associates provides free legal consultations to injured Alaskans. Attorneys can evaluate your case, recommend treatment, and help you settle your claim. A helpful staff provides prompt, courteous services to meet your legal needs. Give Pradell and Associates a call today, at (907) 279-4529-- (279-4LAW).