Oklahoma Attorney Tamra Spradlin has attended Continuing Legal Education Seminars on the subject of Domestic Violence:
- When Children Experience Domestic Violence in 2019, presented by the Community Learning Council; and
- Partners for Change Annual Partnership Conference on Domestic Violence, Sexual Violence & Stalking in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019.
Three Truths about Domestic Violence
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If you have experienced this, or know someone who has, please be informed about the dangers.
For more information, contact the Oklahoma Safe-Line:
1-800-522-SAFE (7233)
They have translation services available in 150 languages. Their V/TDD accessible toll-free hotline is available 24 hours.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
Click to read the article published by Tamra Spradlin on LinkedIn, discussing Oklahoma statistics on Child Abuse and what you can do to prevent child abuse and neglect.
#DomesticViolence
#DomesticViolence
Domestic Violence and Strangulation
In a case decided by a jury in New York on March 13, 2019, a man was found guilty of the strangulation death of his wife. This case was the subject of a Dateline episode, and an article in the NY Times at this link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/nyregion/covlin-murder-wife-daughter.html
Although the victim had a protective order, the man was living across the hall from her and they were co-parenting their two young children. There are many disturbing things about this case; however, one thing I would like to highlight is the issue of strangulation. Choking/strangulation is one of the biggest red flags for lethality in a domestic violence relationship. If this happens in a relationship without loss of conscious or with recovery after loss of consciousness, a person is ten times more likely to be killed by the abuser.
In the case above, there was a history of Domestic Violence and the parties were going through the process of Divorce. Oklahoma law has specific protections for victims of Domestic Violence who are going through a Divorce or Child Custody case. Domestic Violence is defined in the Oklahoma Statutes. The Victim Protective Order Statute, 22 O.S. 60.1, states: "Domestic abuse" means any act of physical harm, or the threat of imminent physical harm which is committed by an adult, emancipated minor, or minor child thirteen (13) years of age or older against another adult, emancipated minor or minor child who are family or household members or who are or were in a dating relationship
In Oklahoma, pursuant to 43 O.S. 109.3: "there shall be a rebuttable presumption that it is not in the best interest of the child to have custody, guardianship, or unsupervised visitation granted to the person against whom domestic abuse, stalking or harassing behavior has been established."
This evidence must be presented to the court and established by the preponderance of evidence legal standard. It is important to retain counsel experienced and educated about issues involving Domestic Violence if this is relevant to your individual case.
Full text of this Article published by Tamra A. Spradlin on LinkedIn
Additional Resources
The Oklahoma Attorney General maintains a website with Victim Services Resources, containing contact information and links to many important phone numbers to report abuse and get help in Oklahoma. The OAG website also includes phone numbers for National Hotlines and links to programs and services.