What’s New on WomensLaw.org

After realizing that our Safety in Court and Safety with an Abuser pages were inadvertently blank, we added content to both pages in English and Spanish. We also updated links on our Safety in a Confidential Address page in English and Spanish,

On our Maryland Crimes page, we added the crimes of visual surveillance, camera surveillance, and sextortion in English and Spanish. We also added the related statutes to our Selected Maryland Statutes page in English.

In our Maryland Peace Orders section, we updated the question in English and Spanish called What acts of abuse would qualify me for a peace order? to add an additional six crimes that could qualify someone for an order. This change because effective in 2016. We very much regret the error in not updating our website sooner. 

We updated the link to the Crime Victims’ Compensation Program on our South Dakota Crimes page.

We updated the links to outside sources on our Oklahoma Divorce page.

We updated the contact information for two local programs on our Oregon Local Programs page in English and Spanish.

In response to an email hotline question about GPS Monitoring, we added the crime “tracking devices prohibited” to our Louisiana Crimes page and the statute to our Louisiana Selected State Statutes page.

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added a statute to our Selected New York Statutes page regarding the five-year time period during which incidents of cruel and inhuman treatment can be considered when filing for divorce. 

Based on a change to the law that became effective July 2018, we revised three questions in our South Dakota State Gun Laws section to add additional reasons that a permit to carry a concealed pistol could be denied. (We regret the delay in making this change.)  We also added three related statutes to our Selected South Dakota Statutes page. 

We translated into Spanish our Oregon Housing Laws.

We translated into Spanish our Oregon Divorce page.

We translated into Spanish our Oregon Family Abuse Prevention Act Restraining Orders. 

In our Tennessee Custody page, we added four new questions: 

• What steps must I take if I want to relocate? What type of notice is required?  
• What happens if the other parent files a petition to oppose the relocation? How will the judge make a decision? 
• When can a grandparent file a petition for visitation rights?
• When can a grandparent be granted visitation rights?

We also added two related statutes to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page. 

In our Oregon Stalking Protection Orders page, we revised the information in What is stalking? to better explain the definition of “alarms” and “coerces” according to the law. Changes made in English - Spanish soon to come.

On our Oregon Statewide Programs, we updated the description in English and Spanish for the Oregon Coalition to include a link to their “find help” page.

Based on a 2018 change to the laws that prohibited someone from having firearms if s/he has an outstanding arrest warrant for a felony or serious offense, we updated two questions in our New York State Gun Laws section in English and Spanish.  We regret the delay in updating this information.

Based on a New York law that became effective in November 2018, we added coercion in the 3rd degree to What is the legal definition of domestic violence (“family offenses”) in New York? as a ground for getting an order of protection. We also updated three other questions in our New York Orders of Protection page based on July 2018 changes to the law. All changes were made in English and Spanish. We also added the related statute to our Selected New York Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish the recent revisions to our California Divorce page.

We translated our Abuse in Immigrant Communities page in our Abuse in Specific Communities section. 

We translated into Spanish our newly updated and edited Immigration Refugee Status page.

We updated the contact information for one domestic violence program on our Georgia Local Programs page in English and Spanish.

We updated the contact information for two domestic violence programs on our Washington Local Programs page in English and Spanish.

We updated the contact information for two domestic violence programs on our California Local Programs page in English and Spanish.

On our Oregon Divorce page, we added the questions Can I get spousal support? What factors will a judge consider? and What types of spousal support are there? in English to explain the factors a judge will consider when awarding spousal support in a divorce case in Oregon. (Spanish soon to come!). We also added the relevant statute to our Selected Oregon Statutes page in English.

We updated three questions in our Delaware State Gun Laws section based on a December 2018 change to the law that made firearm possession illegal for someone who is subject to a lethal protection order.

On our D.C. Crimes page, we updated the link for the D.C. Victim Compensation Program and added a link to the D.C. Victim Hotline in English and Spanish.

We created a Discovery section as part of our ongoing Preparing for Court - By Yourself project. This new section explains how to use and respond to various discovery tools, including, document requests, depositions, interrogatories, a bill of particulars, and witness lists. The discovery information was added in English only, but Spanish is coming soon!

Based on 2019 changes to the law, we added information to our California Child Support page and updated three questions on our California Custody page. All changes were made in English and Spanish.

We updated our Massachusetts Custody page. Spanish translation coming soon!

We added links to court forms related to domestic violence protection orders and divorce, custody, and parenting plans to our Ohio Restraining Orders page and Download Court Forms page.

In the Ohio Domestic Violence Protection Orders page, we corrected the information in In which county can I file for a protection order? We also linked to the Juvenile Civil Protection Order FAQ from the Supreme Court of Ohio’s website in two questions in the Restraining Orders section that deal with filing against a minor.

We updated and re-wrote our Oregon Family Abuse Prevention Act Restraining Orders page. Spanish coming soon!

We updated the contact information for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) and the Women’s Law Project on our Pennsylvania Statewide Programs page, based on their new, updated website. We also added new information about PCADV’s new legal information helpline, PA Safe Law. All changes made in English - Spanish soon to come.

We added two new resources to our Mississippi Legal Assistance page.

We updated our Safety While Using the Internet section, re-wrote Can I permanently delete my Facebook profile? and created a new question in English called What precautions should I take if I want to email a domestic violence program for help? Spanish soon to come!

We updated the contact information for four state and local programs on our Delaware Advocates and Shelters page.

We updated the links to outside resources on our Helping Others - Advocates page in both English and Spanish.

In our Pennsylvania Custody page, we added information to Who is entitled to seek custody? and I am the child’s grandparent or great-grandparent. Can I get custody? based on 2018 changes in the law. Changes made in English and Spanish.

We added links to rules of evidence for every state in which they are available in a new section called Rules of Evidence (in English) on our Preparing for Court - By Yourself page under Court System Basics. Spanish soon to come! (We will soon add a section explaining common rules of evidence in both English and Spanish.)

We updated the links to outside crime victim resources on our North Dakota Crimes page.

We updated the courthouse website for the Berks County Services Center in Berks County, Pennsylvania on our Pennsylvania Courthouse Locations page.

We added the crime of “Taking, enticing away, or keeping of unmarried minor child by parent” to the South Dakota Crimes page and the Selected South Dakota Statutes page. 

in our Montana Divorce section, we updated the links to outside sources in Where can I find additional information about divorce laws in Montana?

We revised all of the information in our Montana Custody section. For example, we revised the question How will a judge make a decision about a parenting plan (custody)? by linking the remaining three crimes listed on that page to their definitions on our Selected Montana Statutes page.  We also re-wrote If my child was conceived from rape, can the offender (parent) get custodial rights or visitation? to include more information. Lastly, we added five related statutes to our Selected Montana Statutes page.

We updated our Mississippi Download Court Forms page.

We completely re-organized and revised our Mississippi State Gun Laws section to make it easier to read. In addition to adding a new sub-section called The Abuser is Not Supposed to Have a Gun…Now What?, we also removed the majority of the federal gun laws information so that the section focuses on Mississippi state laws. 

On our Louisiana Suing an Abuser page, we updated the links to three parishes’ websites with small claims court information.

Based on a 2018 change to Louisiana’s law, we updated the information in Where can I file for a sexual assault protective order?

In our Oregon Local Programs page, we added Domestic Violence Services, Inc. to our Morrow County section in English and Spanish.

In our Louisiana Protective Orders (for Domestic Abuse) section, we revised the question What protections can I get in a protective order? to remove information about a judge being able to order the petitioner to undergo a mental health evaluation. The change was based on a 2018 amendment to the law.

We completely revised and re-wrote our Louisiana State Gun Laws section in order to update the information based on 2018 changes to the law. We also created two new questions called What reasons would someone be denied a permit to carry a concealed handgun? and If the abuser’s gun is taken away, what will happen to it?  We also added three related statutes to our Selected Louisiana Statutes page.

We added five custody-related statutes to our Selected Louisiana Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our recently revised general Divorce page.

In our Louisiana Custody page, based on 2018 changes to the law, we re-wrote the information in multiple questions regarding when a parent who committed violence or sexual abuse can get custody or visitation. We also created four new questions called If my child was conceived as a result of rape, can the parent (offender) get any rights to my child?, Can a parent who sexually abused my child (or another child) get visitation? Can a parent who sexually abused my child (or another child) get custody? and Can a non-parent get custody?

We revised the Oregon Custody page to make it easier to read. We also added a question called If my child was conceived as a result of rape, can the parent (offender) get custody? and we updated the links to outside resources in Where can I get additional information about custody in Oregon? All changes made in English. Spanish soon to come!

In our Minnesota Custody section, we revised the question Can a parent who committed violence get custody or visitation? to explain the legal standard of “rebuttable presumption” that affects the judge’s decision.

We added links to court forms related to custody and parenting time to our Minnesota Custody page and Download Court Forms page.

We updated and added content to our Immigration Asylum page in English. Spanish translation coming soon!

In our Maine Protection from Abuse Orders (for the elderly/dependent/incapacitated) section, we clarified that this section explains additional people against whom a person can file but it doesn’t affect his/her ability to file against a family or household member or dating partner. We also clarified the definition of dependent adult and added additional acts that qualify as abuse that we previously erroneously left out. We also added a related statute to our Selected Maine Statutes section.

Based on a December 2018 addition to the law that added three additional crimes as grounds for minor victims to qualify for a PFA, we updated the two questions in our Maine Protection from Abuse Orders (for domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and more) section.

Based on a September 2018 change to the law regarding re-applying for a firearm permit once five years have passed since completing certain criminal sentences, we updated two questions in our Maine State Gun Laws page.

We revised our Maine Protection from Harassment Orders page to make it easier to understand. We also added a new question called Under what circumstances would I need to request that law enforcement issue a notice to stop the harassment before applying for an order?

We translated into Spanish the Massachusetts section on Harassment Prevention Orders.

Based on a law that took effect in December 2018, we updated our Maine Protection from Harassment Orders page to add eleven new reasons why a person could qualify for an order. We also added nine related statutes to the Selected Maine Statutes page.  

We added information to our Kentucky Interpersonal Protective Orders page about how a conviction for certain sex offenses automatically triggers the issuance of an order on the victim’s  behalf.  We also added a related statute to our Selected Kentucky Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our Massachusetts Child Support page.

We translated into Spanish the Michigan Non-Domestic Sexual Assault Personal Protection Orders​ page.

On our Indiana Suing an Abuser page, we added information about Marion County, which has a limit of $8,000 per claim as opposed to $6,000 in other counties. We also added a link to the Indiana Judicial Branch’s video on how to represent yourself in small claims court. Lastly, we added three related statutes to the Selected Indiana Statutes page.