Excellence In Advocacy - Ohio Office Of Criminal Justice .
OHIO FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION CENTEROFFICE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICESA DIVISION OF THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETYExcellence inAdvocacy:A Victim-Centered Approach2010
Message from the Executive Directorof the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice ServicesThe Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS), the lead criminal justice planning agencyfor the State of Ohio, is pleased to provide this publication, Excellence in Advocacy: A VictimCentered Approach. This publication was developed through a collaboration of the FamilyViolence Prevention Center (FVPC) and the Family Violence Prevention Center AdvisoryCouncil. The FVPC Advisory Council consists of criminal justice experts from around the statewho work on domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking issues. Excellencein Advocacy: A Victim-Centered Approach, is part of our continuing effort to educate andenhance services of professionals in the field. This publication, while helpful for all victimadvocates, was specifically designed for victim advocates who have been in the field five yearsor less. The publication includes information on the following topics: What is advocacy?National/State Code of Conduct for advocatesUnauthorized practice of lawPicking your battlesLegal remediesSafety planningEmerging issuesThe success of this publication is not possible without the collaborative efforts of FVPC and itspartners in the victim advocacy field.It is my hope that Excellence in Advocacy: A Victim-Centered Approach will serve as avaluable resource for victim advocates and service providers as they work towards safety,education and awareness for victims/survivors of crime and enhancing public safety in Ohio.Karhlton F. MooreExecutive DirectorOhio Office of Criminal Justice ServicesThis project was supported by Grant Number 2008-WF-AX-0021, awarded by the Office on ViolenceAgainst Women, U.S. Department of Justice.The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of theauthor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence AgainstWomen.2 Page
Special ThanksOhio Family Violence Prevention Center Advisory CouncilVictims’ Services Publication Subcommittee:Chair, Robin Bozian, Southeastern Ohio Legal ServicesChrystal Alexander, Ohio Department of Public SafetyMolly Burchfield, Athens Police DepartmentMike Davis, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and CorrectionsDebbie Echesabal, Intern, The Ohio State UniversityKate Foulke, Ohio Department of Youth ServicesGail Heller, Choices for Eliminating Domestic ViolenceSandy Huntzinger, Ohio Attorney General’s OfficeSpecial thanks to Cindy Kuhr for her assistance with the sectionon Vicarious Trauma.FORWARDThis publication is meant to be a helpful resource for advocates new to the field of victimadvocacy. It is not intended to be a step by step guide for working with crime victims asprocedures will vary from agency to agency. This publication is based on the collectivework experience of the Victims’ Services Publication Subcommittee members listedabove, and also includes additional resources. Our intent is to provide a basis ofknowledge about working in the advocacy field and to address different topics you mayencounter such as vicarious trauma, emerging issues, legal remedies and other subjects.Because there are already several excellent publications available for Ohio advocates, wehave tried to touch on subject matter that has not already been addressed. Some of theother great resources include The ABC’s of Crime Victim Advocacy by JeannetteM. Adkins, Ohio Domestic Violence Law by Ronald B. Adrine and Alexandria M.Ruden and Quality Victim Advocacy - A Field Guide by David Voth.The first two chapters of this publication are meant to be read straight through toprovide a basic foundation. The remaining chapters are intended to be used asresources as you begin your work as a victim advocate.It is our hope that this publication will assist advocates in navigating the victimadvocacy field successfully by developing healthy coping and advocacy skills andutilizing what we have found to be helpful practices when working with communityand criminal justice partners for the benefit of crime victims.3 Page
Table of ContentsChapter 1:Just For Advocates 6Outline of the Ohio Criminal Justice System .7Unauthorized Practice of Law 8Code of Conduct 14Picking Up the Pieces .17Victims Of Crime Compensation Program .18Victim Information and Notification Everyday. .20Vicarious Trauma 22Picking Your Battles .26Chapter 2:The Different Disciplines of Victim Advocacy .29Chapter 3:Safety Planning .32Special Populations: Refugee and Immigrant Women 37Children 39Victims With Disabilities . .39Teens in Abusive Relationships .46Chapter 4:Legal Remedies 48Chapter 5Emerging Issues .57Cybercrimes: Cyberstalking .57Cybercrimes: Sexting 59Human Trafficking 60Teen Violence Curriculum 64Women Who Fight Back 65Officers Who Batter .69Conclusion .834 Page
Glossary of AcronymsAG's Office--The Ohio Attorney General's OfficeCA--Credentialed Advocate (National Victim Advocate Certification)CPO—Civil Protection OrderCSPO—Civil Stalking Protection OrderCSOOPO—Civil Sexually Oriented Offense Protection OrderIPV—Intimate Partner ViolenceJAG--Justice Assistance GrantNOVA--National Organization for Victim AssistanceOCJS--Ohio Office of Criminal Justice ServicesODRC--Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and CorrectionsODYS--Ohio Department of Youth ServicesORC—Ohio Revised CodeOVW--Office on Violence Against WomenOVWA--Ohio Victim Witness AssociationRA--Registered Advocate (State of Ohio Victim Advocate Certification)SAFE—Sexual Assault Forensic ExamSANE—Sexual Assault Nurse ExaminerTPO—Temporary Protection OrderVAWA--Violence Against Women ActVINE—Victim Information and Notification EverydayVOCCP—Victims of Crime Compensation ProgramVS--Victim Services5 Page
Chapter 1:Just For Advocates1Whatis an advocate?Advocates are trained professionals who assist and/or advocate for victims of crime(in accordance with ORC 2930) in determining the best options in the aftermath of acrime, whether or not the victim goes through the civil or criminal justice system.Advocacy may include but is not limited to: Court accompanimentMaking victim notificationAssistance with preparing victim impact statementsProviding information about the criminal justice systemAssisting with Victims of Crime Compensation FormsExplaining to survivors of crime their rights as afforded to them in Ohio RevisedCode 2930Notifying crime victims of hearing dates and updating them on the status of theircaseMaking referrals to appropriate community resourcesServing as a liaison between victims of crime, law enforcement, the prosecutingattorney’s office, the criminal justice system and community resources.Victims may have been affected by misdemeanor or felony crimes or both.These crimes include but are not limited to: Murder Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (Assault) Sexual Assaults Burglary Robbery Assaults (Felony and Misdemeanor) Domestic Violence Stalking (Menacing by Stalking)Please note that advocacy may also be called: victim assistance, victim witness and/orvictim services. Generally, these terms are interchangeable. For this publication avictim may also be called a survivor. Additionally, the term abuser is used1Information for State and National Advocates-http://www.ovwa.org/, http://www.trynova.org/6 Page
interchangeably with batterer and offender. The terms used in your area will depend onthe community and the criminal justice system where you work.Outline of the Ohio Criminal Justice SystemMunicipal Court Crime and Arrest Felony or misdemeanor charged and filed at Municipal Court Arraignment in Municipal Court (TPO may be issued in domestic violence cases)and Bond Set Preliminary Hearing (For bind over to Court of Common Pleas – felony cases) Pretrial Conference Hearings Trial or Change of Plea Hearing SentencingCourt of Common Pleas Grand Jury Indictment (or No Bill- case is finished- no charges) Arraignment (Bond set, plea entered) Pretrial Motion Hearing (Suppression, Not guilty by reason of insanity hearing - NGRI) Change of Plea Trial Conviction or adjudication/Acquittal Pre-sentence Investigation Sentence Community Control or Confinement Release from Prison Community Control***Note: There may be some variations in the above process based on jurisdiction,however, for the most part, the steps listed above are followed in the state of Ohio.7 Page
No matter what organization you are part of, your role is that of an advocate.Your job is not to provide legal advice. Take some time to read the article below andbecome familiar with the chart outlining what a non-lawyer can do to help theirclients. Be aware which activities fall under “practicing law without a license” andviolate Ohio law.UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASESThe Ohio General Assembly has prohibited persons from practicing law without alicense. R.C. 4705.01. Therefore, the Supreme Court has established a Board ofCommissioners on the Unauthorized Practice of Law and adopted rules for filingand considering complaints alleging the unauthorized practice of law. See OhioGov. Bar R. VI. Potential unauthorized practice of law (UPL) by nonlawyers (e.g.,clerks of court and victim advocates) in domestic violence cases includes providinglegal representation to a client, such as representing the client in court, preparingand filing legal pleadings, briefs, or other legal documents for a client, ornegotiating on behalf of a client. More difficult questions arise as to when givinglegal advice or information to other persons constitutes the unauthorized practiceof law and what assistance can legitimately be provided to pro se petitioners withregard to the distribution and preparation of CPO petitions or other legal forms.The Ohio Supreme Court and its Board of Commissioners promulgate rules, issueopinions, and decide cases concerning the unauthorized practice of law in Ohio. Theopinions of Supreme Court and the Board of Commissioners define “unauthorizedpractice of law” in Ohio and, conversely, what types of assistance by nonlawyers topersons seeking legal advice or information are permissible conduct in Ohio.In the domestic violence context, the Ohio Supreme Court has cited a MarylandAttorney General’s Opinion on the proper role of victim advocates as providingguidance in this area. In addition, enforcing the domestic violence laws is a highpriority for Ohio courts, as noted by the Ohio Supreme Court in a landmarkdecision: “[C]ourts have an obligation to carry out the legislative goals to protect thevictims of domestic violence.” Felton v. Felton (1997), 79 Ohio St.3d 34, 44-45. The8 Page
Ohio General Assembly has enacted strong and comprehensive domestic violencelaws–providing for a wide range of both civil and criminal remedies and specificallyacknowledging the roles of nonlawyer victim advocates and requiring the courts toprovide court mandated protection order forms to pro se petitioners. These lawsreflect the legislative intent and Ohio’s public policy priority to assist victims ofdomestic violence. The UPL requirements should not be used to bar the types ofroutine assistance provided to victims by clerks of court and victim advocates, andUPL enforcement decisions should take into account the high priority Ohio law andpublic policy place on assisting domestic violence victims.The critical factor in determining whether legal advice or other legal assistanceconstitutes the unauthorized practice of law is whether the legal advice orassistance is tailored to the needs of a specific person. Application of the law to aclient’s particular situation or circumstances, providing a legal analysis of thestrengths and weaknesses of a person’s legal case, or the recommendation of acourse of action for a particular person are examples of conduct whichclearly falls outside the scope of permissible conduct by nonlawyers and constitutesthe unauthorized practice of law. By contrast, providing general legal information,copies of statutes, or copies of standard court forms is permissible conduct bynonlawyers and does not constitute the unauthorized practice of law.A recent ruling by the Board of Commissioners on the Unauthorized Practice ofLaw illustrates this key point. Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Palmer (2001), 115Ohio Misc. 2870. This case concerned the operation of a computer website offering“free legal advice” by David Palmer, a nonlawyer and judicial gadfly. The Boardruled the site did not constitute practicing law without a license. Although Mr.Palmer’s site invited members of the general public to contact him toseek legal advice regarding “any questions or concerns regarding any legal matter,”and Mr. Palmer included the initials “J.D.” after his name on his letterhead, theCommission focused on the types of legal advice or information actually providedby Mr. Palmer and his website to persons who visited the website. Despite Mr.Palmer’s invitation to persons seeking legal advice regarding their problems orconcerns, the Board concluded that he had not actually responded to9 Page
requests for legal advice tailored to those persons’ specific problems orcircumstances. The legal advice provided by the website was only generalinformation and thus did not constitute the unauthorized practice of law by anonlawyer.Published advice offered to the general public, the Board explained, lacks oneessential element of the practice of law: the tailoring of advice to the needs of aspecific person. Mr. Palmer’s remarks on the website did not prove that he engagedin unauthorized practice, the Board found, since not all advice rises to the level oflegal advice that only a lawyer may give. Nonlawyers may give out general legaladvice or information such as that provided in books, magazines articles,newsletters, and brochures without violating the legal prohibition againstnonlawyers engaging in the practice of law. Another important factor in UPLenforcement and determinations is whether the challenged conduct requires theexercise of professional judgment by a lawyer. For example, in a 1997decision the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the activities of real estate brokers(such as completing preprinted contracts with simple, factual information that doesnot require the skills of a lawyer to complete and does not require “legal knowledgenot possessed by an ordinary layman”) fall outside the scope of Ohio’s UPL law.Sharon Village Ltd. v. Licking Bd. of Revision (1997), 78 Ohio St.3d 479, 482.In light of Palmer, Sharon Village, and other UPL decisions of the Ohio SupremeCourt and the Board of Commissioners on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, it ispossible to develop a classification of permissible and non-permissible conduct byclerks of court, domestic violence victim advocates, and other nonlawyers. Thefollowing chart should prove useful to both clerks of court and victim advocatesbecause it clearly sets forth what activities are permissible (not UPL) andimpermissible (is UPL) in light of the current state of the law in Ohio. It should bekept in mind, however, that these guidelines may change in the future if and whenthe Supreme Court or the Board of Commissioners expands or otherwise changesthe definition of unauthorized practice of law” in Ohio.Courtesy of Michael Smalz, Senior Attorney with the Ohio Poverty Law Center10 P a g e
NONLAWYER ROLES AND ACTIVITIESCAN Provide information contained indocket reports, case files, indexes,and other reports Answer questions concerning courtrules, procedures, ordinarypractices, and the types of legalactions that DV victims canpursue.-Such questions often contain thewords “Can I” or “How Do I.” Provide examples of forms orpleadings for the guidance ofparties or victims Explain how cases generally aremanagedCANNOT Disclose the outcome of a mattersubmitted to a judge for decisionuntil the outcome is reflected in ajournal entry Answer questions regarding themerits of a person’s case orregarding the types of legal actionsthat the persons should pursuebased on their particularcircumstances Draft or prepare forms or pleadingsfor parties or victims Provide legal definitions Explain how this case will bemanaged or give an opinion as towhat will happen if you go to court Tell someone whether or not tobring action or recommend specificcourse of conduct Give legal interpretations Provide procedural definitions Give procedural advice Provide guidance on how tocompute due dates Speculate as to when a judge willmake a decision on a particularmatter Suggest that a person must use aparticular form, unless it is a courtapproved form (e.g., the standardDV protection order forms) Answer questions on how to phraseparticular responses on forms Explain requirements to have CPOor TPO case considered by courtand deadlines Identify which court forms mightmeet person’s needs (warning: noguarantees and should seekattorney’s assistance) Provide guidance on how tocomplete court forms (where towrite particular info)11 P a g e
CAN Tell people where they can getassistance filling out court forms orother legal documents, or assistpersons in completing court formsor other legal documents by readingaloud the questions, definingunfamiliar terms, explaining whereon a form the person is to providecertain information, and filling inthe blanks in a court form (onpaper or on a computer screen) asdirected by the person (Write downperson’s exact words.) Read court or lawyer-approvedforms and instructions to a person Suggest that a person contact alawyer and provide them with infoabout legal aid and referralresources Provide copies of requested rules,laws, and ordinances, or show ortell people where copies of rules,laws, or ordinances may be found Educate yourself on domesticviolence law by researching rules,laws, or ordinances Give someone the statutorydefinition of “domestic violence” or“family or household members” Tell a party how the judge hearingthe victim’s case has ruled in pastcases Educate oneself on domesticviolence law by researching andreading casesCANNOT Tell or suggest to people whatspecific answers they should give tofill in the blanks on a court form(on paper or on a computerscreen) or interpret the meaning ofcourt rules, laws, or ordinances Change the forms or instructionsand give or read the modified formsor instructions to a person Suggest a specific attorney or refera person to a specific attorney Interpret the meaning of those rules,laws, or ordinances for a party orvictim Research which rules, laws, orordinances apply in a particularperson’s situation and explain thoserules, laws, or ordinances to thatperson Advise someone as to whether s/hefalls within the definition of a“family or household member” orwhether certain conduct falls withinthe definition of “domesticviolence” Tell a party or victim the likelihoodof getting a civil protection orderbased upon the facts in their case Research cases and interpret orexplain those cases to a party orvictim, or advise a party or victimas to how to apply those cases tothat person’s facts12 P a g e
CAN Do community education, operate awebsite, or otherwise providegeneral legal information ondomestic violence laws andremedies to DV victims, the generalpublic, etc. Provide people with basicinformation about the existence oflegal rights and remedies
the community and the criminal justice system where you work. Outline of the Ohio Criminal Justice System . Municipal Court Crime and Arrest Felony or misdemeanor charged and filed at Municipal Court Arraignment in Municipal Court (T
WASH advocacy, including an assessment of the current situation, goals to drive future WASH advocacy, key gaps, and opportunities for the WASH sector to become more effective in its advocacy work. Global Advocacy for WASH: Manuals Stronger Health Advocates, Greater Health Impacts: A workbook for policy advocacy strategy development (PATH, 2014)
2016 Ohio IT 4708 General Instructions New Ohio IT K-1 Use the Ohio IT K-1 to report each investor's or beneficiary's proportionate or distributive share of the partnership's, corporation's, estate's or trust's Ohio income and credits. Each entity with Ohio income should prepare a separate Ohio IT K-1 for each investor or
MANUAL FOR FACILITATORS OF ADVOCACY TRAINING SESSIONS SECTION 1 BASIC PRINCIPLES BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FACILITATING ADVOCACY EVENTS The facilitation of advocacy training sessions or of other group processes related to advocacy initiatives requires a variety of technical, pedagogical, political, and artistic skills and knowledge.
Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist Board Ohio Department of Higher Education Ohio Department of Medicaid Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services State Board of Psychology State Medical Board of Ohio Deter
The Ohio Nursing Articulation Model (ONAM) Advisory Committee Dr. Richard Arndt Ohio Board of Regents Director, K-16 Initiatives Columbus, Ohio W. Rae Arnold, MA, RN Ohio Nurses Association Director Community Outreach Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospitals Ohio Health Columbus, Ohio Nora Bostic, LPN (Until 2/2003)
while the minima of —16 F at Toledo and Sandusky and —17 F at Fremont are several degrees higher than the minima for the other cities. TABLE 1* Toledo, Ohio Sanduskv, Ohio Fremont, Ohio Bowling Green, Ohio Napoleon, Ohio Morenci, Michigan Adrian, Michigan Monroe, Michigan Len g Rec o Yr. 40 40 38 40. . 40 30 39 22 u a 26 27 27 26 25 25 .
Sunbury, Ohio Friday & Saturday, Sept. 16 & 17 Each session begins at 12:00 noon 2016 Ohio Selected Jug Sale 2016 OHIO SELECTED JUG SALE OHIO SELECTED JUG SALE This year's sale will be held in two sessions: Friday, September 16 at 12:00 noon Saturday, September 17 at 12:00 noon Lexington Selected Yearling Sale P.O. Box 8790, Lexington, KY 40533
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