What’s New on WomensLaw.org
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July 2021
We added a new law related to serving a civil protection order to our Selected D.C. Statutes page that was added by the legislature in April 2021 as well as 5 new laws regarding anti-stalking protection orders. Look out for a new FAQ section on anti-stalking orders coming soon!
We updated the email address for Brevard County Legal Aid on our Florida Legal Assistance page.
Based on 2021 changes to the law, we added information to three questions in English and Spanish in our D.C. State Gun Laws page about not being able to get a firearm when there is an ex parte extreme risk protection order in place, not just a final order. In addition, in our D.C. Extreme Risk Protection Orders section, we updated How do I get an extreme risk protection order? in our to remove the requirement to attach evidence and supporting document to the petition when filing, We also updated What types of orders are there? How long do they last? to increase the length of an order from 10 days to 14 days as well as to explain that the judge can extend an ex parte order for additional 14-day periods in English and Spanish.
In our Pennsylvania Custody section, we revised If my child was conceived from sexual assault, can the offender get custody or visitation? to include information about filing a petition to terminate the offender’s parental rights in English and Spanish. We also added four related statutes to our Selected Pennsylvania Statutes section in English.
Based on 2021 changes to the law that replaced the term “mentally defective” with “incapable of appraising the nature of a person’s conduct” in the definition of sexual abuse, we updated What is the legal definition of sexual abuse? in our Oregon Sexual Abuse Protection Orders page in English. Spanish soon to come!
On our Louisiana Download Court Forms page, we updated the link for a petition for a protection from abuse order and added a new link to the petition for protection from stalking or sexual assault.
Based on changes to the law, we updated Who can get a protective order? in our Louisiana Protective Orders (for Domestic Abuse) section to include the following additional definitions of “family members” and “household members”: the other parent of the abuser’s child; the other foster parent of the abuser’s foster child; any child who live(d) in the same home as the abuser; and other relatives, known in the law as ”ascendants” and ”descendants”. Additionally, in What is the legal definition of domestic abuse in Louisiana? we clarified the definition of ”abuse of an adult” that is committed by an adult child to explain that “abuse” can include physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, abandonment, isolation, exploitation, or extortion of funds or other things of value.
June 2021
On our Minnesota Places that Help page, we updated 31 resources as follows: 3 Statewide Programs, 24 Local Programs, 2 Legal Assistance, 2 Lawyer Referral Services. We also added 2 organizations to our Local Programs page: Family Safety Network – Park Rapids and Family Safety Network - Bagley. All changes were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!
We translated into Spanish the newly created and updated questions on our California Housing Laws page.
We translated into Spanish our recently reviewed question called “What is spyware?” on our Electronic Surveillance page.
We translated into Spanish our recently added questions on our Ohio Domestic Violence/Dating Violence Protection Orders page called Can I get a protection order if I’m a minor? and Can I get a protection order if I’m a minor? What if the abuser is a minor? on our Stalking or Sexually Oriented Offense Protection Orders page.
We added two statutes to our Selected Louisiana Statutes page regarding the rights of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to terminate their lease.
We updated our California Workplace Protections section based upon statutory changes. We also added an additional revenge porn statute on our California Crimes page as well as the related Selected California Statues. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon!
In our Florida Injunction for Protections Against Domestic Violence section, based on changes to the law, we included protections available for pets in What protections can I get in an injunction for protection against domestic violence? We also improved the question by delineating adding the protections you can get in temporary, ex parte order. In addition, in our Florida Custody section, we revised I am a member of the child’s extended family. Can I get temporary or concurrent custody of the child? based on changes to the law about the requirements to file for concurrent custody and to include the definition of extended family member, which now includes “fictive kin.” Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon. We also added a related statute to our Selected Florida Statutes page in English.
In our Colorado Protection Orders for Stalking, Sexual Assault, Physical Harm/Threats, and Abuse of Elderly/At-Risk Adult page, we updated the legal definition of mistreatment in What is the legal definition of mistreatment/abuse of the elderly or an at-risk adult? based on changes to the law. Changes made in English; Spanish soon to come. We also added one related statute to our Selected Colorado Statutes page.
We translated into Spanish our recently expanded Massachusetts Housing Laws section.
We translated into Spanish the 4 updated questions in our Massachusetts Child Support section.
On our California Domestic Violence Restraining Orders page, based on changes to the law, we updated What if the abuser violates the order? to include information about probation or a conditional sentence as a possible punishment, as well as the increased penalties for multiple violations. We also updated What is the legal definition of domestic violence in California? to expand upon the definition for disturbing one’s peace and coercive control. Changes made in English.
Based on updates to the laws, we revised 5 questions and added 1 new question on our California Gun Violence Restraining Orders page. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon!
We translated into Spanish our recently revised VAWA Self-petitions section.
We added a new statute about gun violence restraining orders to our Selected California Statutes page.
May 2021
We added three courthouses to our Minnesota Courthouse Locations page and updated information for an additional 86 courthouses.
We updated eight resources in our Arkansas Local Programs page.
We added the county designation for 224 listings in our Places that Help section for local programs and legal assistance organizations. This allows users to sort listings by county instead of by town, so they don’t miss resources that are located in another town but serve people in their town.
Based on amendments to the law, we updated six questions and added two new questions on our California Housing Laws page. Changes made in English, Spanish coming soon.
In our Nebraska Legal Assistance page, we updated the descriptions for 8 Legal Aid resources and translated them into Spanish.
In our Alabama Places that Help page, we added the county for 13 entries so that we could organize the resources by county instead of by town, thereby making it easier for people to know which organization serves their area.
In our Alaska Places that Help page, we added the county for 61 entries so that we could organize the resources by county instead of by town, thereby making it easier for people to know which organization serves their area.
On our Arkansas Legal Assistance page, we added 7 new Legal Aid office locations in English and Spanish.
On our South Carolina Places that Help page, we updated 18 resources as follows: 2 Statewide Programs, 7 Local Programs, 8 Legal Assistance, 1 Lawyer Referral Services. We also added 22 new resources as follows: 2 Statewide Programs, 16 Local Programs, 4 Legal Assistance. All changes were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!
With the help of ASISTA, we completely re-wrote our VAWA Battered Spouse or Child Waivers section, adding 14 new questions, and our VAWA Self-petitions section, with 27 new questions. Changes made in English; Spanish soon to come.
Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added the crime of “willful infliction of corporal injury” to our California Crimes page in English and Spanish and to our Selected California Statutes page in English.
April 2021
We updated and reorganized our Tennessee Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to use. The updates were in English, but Spanish is coming soon. We also added five related statutes to our Tennessee Selected State Statutes page.
We updated the links and information on our D.C. Download Court Forms page in English and Spanish.
We added a new question in English to our Ohio Domestic Violence/Dating Violence Protection Orders page called Can I get a protection order if I’m a minor? We added a similar question called Can I get a protection order if I’m a minor? What if the abuser is a minor? to our Stalking or Sexually Oriented Offense Protection Orders page. Spanish soon to come. We also revised four questions to add the term “dating violence protection order” and changed the name of the section to make it clearer that this section applies to victims of dating violence too, not just domestic violence.
We added links to a motion to modify or terminate a protection order, a motion for contempt, and a dating violence protection order to our Ohio Download Court Forms page. Changes made in English and Spanish.
We updated and reorganized 12 questions in our Nebraska State Gun Laws section to make it easier to use and more state specific. All changes in English, but Spanish is coming soon!
We added the crime of cyberstalking to our Washington Crimes page in English and Spanish and to the Selected Washington Statutes page in English.
We added the Elder Victims of Crime Program (part of Area Agency on Aging of Western Arkansas) to our Arkansas Local Programs page and Legal Assistance page in English (Spanish coming soon). We also updated all of the resources in our Arkansas Legal Assistance and added six new legal organizations in English and Spanish.
We revised the New Jersey Download Court Forms page to add links to petitions to modify, enforce, and dismiss a restraining order. Changes made in English and Spanish.
We updated the contact information for two listings in our New Jersey Lawyer Referral Services page. We also added information about the Reduced Fee Referral Program to the Morris County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service description. Changes made in English and Spanish.
We added one new resource, Victims’ Safe Harbor Foundation, Inc., to our Florida Legal Assistance page in English. Spanish soon to come.
On our South Carolina Places that Help page, we updated 52 Courthouse Locations and added 4 new courthouses.
We updated and reorganized our Minnesota State Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to use. This change is in English, but Spanish is coming soon! We also added six related statutes to our Selected Minnesota Statutes section.
We added three crimes to our Minnesota Crimes page.
March 2021
On our Nebraska Places that Help page, we updated 135 resources as follows: 1 Statewide Programs, 26 Local Programs, 14 Legal Assistance, 1 Lawyer Referral Services, 93 Courthouse Locations. We also added 4 organizations to our Local Programs page and 1 new Courthouse Location. All changes were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!
In our About Abuse page, we updated the content and links in English and Spanish in the In the Workplace, which has information about sexual harassment in the workplace and workplace restraining orders.
In our North Carolina Civil No Contact Orders (“50C Orders”) section, we added information about an employer being able to file on behalf of an abused employee to the question Am I eligible to file for a civil no-contact order? Changes made in English and Spanish.
We updated and reorganized 18 questions on our New Hampshire Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to use. We also added two relevant statutes to our New Hampshire Selected State Statutes section. The changes in the gun laws section are in English, but Spanish is coming soon!
We added four questions addressing Stimulus Payments to our Frequently Asked Questions About Courts and Covid-19 section in English. Spanish coming soon!
We translated into Spanish our recently reviewed Puerto Rico Custody page.
We translated into Spanish our newly added Georgia Child Support section.
We translated into Spanish our recently created D.C. Child Support section.
We reviewed our Electronic Surveillance page and added a new question called “What is spyware?” Spanish translation coming soon.
We translated into Spanish our recently updated and reorganized Montana State Gun Laws section.
We translated into Spanish our recently updated and reorganized Iowa State Gun Laws section.
We translated into Spanish the four new questions on our Ohio Custody section.
We translated into Spanish our newly expanded Connecticut Housing Laws section.
On our Selected Connecticut Statutes page, we added the statute for “sexual assault in the third degree: Class D or C felony.”
We translated into Spanish our newly reviewed Abuse in Immigrant Communities section.
We translated into Spanish our recently updated Indiana State Gun Laws section.
We translated into Spanish our Substantial Risk Orders in Virginia.
We updated and reorganized our Utah Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to use. We also added three relevant statutes to our Utah Selected State Statutes section. The changes in the gun laws section are in English, but Spanish is coming soon!
In our South Carolina Finding a Lawyer page, we updated two resources on our Legal Assistance page and added one new resource to the Lawyer Referral Services page.
We added a Safety When an Abuser Gets Out of Jail section with six new questions to help survivors know when an abuser will be released, and steps they can take to stay safe. Added within our Safety Tips section, in English. Spanish is coming soon!
We translated into Spanish our Utah Restraining Orders section.
February 2021
We updated and reorganized our Maine Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to use. This included updates to 15 questions in English! Spanish coming soon! We also added one related statute to our Maine Selected State Statutes section.
We updated all 14 questions in our Financial Abuse section in English and Spanish. For example, we added six more signs of abuse to What is financial abuse? What are the signs to look out for? plus we improved the information in the other questions as well.
We updated the contact information and description of services for three Local Programs in Minnesota.
We translated into Spanish the recent changes in the Washington Custody section.
We translated into Spanish our newly revised Puerto Rico Gun Laws section.
We translated into Spanish the newly reviewed information on our Puerto Rico Divorce page.
We translated into Spanish the revised questions: If the abuser has been convicted of a crime, can s/he keep or buy a gun? and I do not have a protective order against the abuser and s/he has not been convicted of a crime. Can s/he own a gun? in our Virginia State Gun Laws section.
We translated into Spanish our newly added Maryland page called “Can I file for a peace order against a minor?”.
We translated into Spanish our Nevada High-Risk Protection Orders page.
We translated into Spanish our Indiana Firearms Seizure and Retention Law section.
Based on recent changes to the Puerto Rico Civil Code, we added 13 new statutes related to custody and 5 new statutes related to divorce to our Selected Puerto Rico Statutes page.
Based on a change in the law in California that adds coercive control to their definition of domestic violence, we updated the What is the legal definition of domestic violence? question on the California Restraining Orders page. The update is in English and Spanish!
We updated and reorganized our Wyoming Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to use. We also added one related statute to our Wyoming Selected State Statutes section. All changes in English.
Based on a change in the law that allows a judge to order the abuser to refrain from remotely controlling any connected devices affecting the home, vehicle or property of the person protected by the order, we updated What protections can I get in an order of protection? in our New York Restraining Orders section. The change is in English and Spanish.
We updated our Maine Sheriff Departments section with corrected addresses, contact information, and websites.
We translated into Spanish our recently reviewed Refugee Status section.
We translated into Spanish our recently reviewed Asylum section.
In our Alaska Divorce page, we created three new questions entitled: What is the difference between dissolution and divorce? Which one do I file?, What temporary orders can the judge make while the divorce is going on?, and Do the parties have to go to mediation in a divorce case?. We also added information about dissolution and other related topics to the following three questions: What are the residency requirements to file for divorce or dissolution in Alaska? and What are the grounds for divorce in Alaska? and Can I get alimony in a divorce?
We added a new D.C. Child Support section with 5 questions about who can get child support, how to file for child support, and how a support amount is calculated. The new section is in English, Spanish is coming soon!
We added three new statutes related to divorce to our Selected Alaska Statutes page.
January 2021
On our Delaware Places that Help page, we updated 24 resources as follows: 8 Statewide Programs, 5 Local Programs, 5 Victim Assistance Programs, Legal Assistance, 2 Legal Assistance, 1 Lawyer Referral Services, 3 Courthouse Locations. We also added 2 organizations to our Legal Assistance page and 1 resource to our Legal Referral Services page. All changes were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!
In our Hawaii Places that Help section, we updated 15 resources as follows: 3 Statewide Programs, 9 Local Programs, 3 Courthouse Locations. We also added 13 new resources as follows: 12 Local Programs and 1 Courthouse Location.
We added two questions about grandparent’s visitation in our U.S. Virgin Islands Custody section.
We added one child support related statute to our Georgia Selected State Statutes section.
We added 2 statutes related to child support to our Selected District of Columbia Statutes page.
We added 7 statutes related to gun laws to our Selected Puerto Rico Statutes page.
We added three statutes related to custody to our Selected Ohio Statutes page.
We added one new statutes related to child support to our Selected Wisconsin Statutes page.
We expanded the Wisconsin Child Support page to include 4 new questions.
We added two new statutes related to child support to our Selected Massachusetts Statutes page.
We added information to 4 questions in our Massachusetts Child Support section and reviewed and updated the whole page for clarity. Spanish translation coming soon!
We expanded the Massachusetts Housing Laws to include 5 new questions for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault who need to terminate their lease for fear of immediate harm and we updated 1 question. Spanish translation coming soon.
Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we revised Who is protected by this housing law? What protections does this law offer? in our Texas Housing Laws page to clarify the distinction between the steps one must take to terminate a lease when the abuser lives in the home versus when the abuser doesn’t live in the home. Changes made in Spanish and English.
We updated and reorganized our Vermont Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to navigate. We also added five related statutes to our Vermont Selected State Statutes section. All changes in English.
We added 33 statutes related to custody and crimes to our Selected Missouri Statutes page. We also added 19 crimes to the Missouri Crimes page, with links to their statutory definitions.
We changed our general, non-state specific custody information for Missouri into a state-specific section. There are now 8 new Missouri-specific questions on the Missouri Custody page!
We added a new Georgia Child Support section with questions about who can get child support, how long it lasts, and how a support amount is calculated. The new section is in English, Spanish is coming soon!
We added one statute related to state gun laws to our Selected Montana Statutes page.
We updated and reorganized our Montana State Gun Laws section to make it more state law focused and easier to use. This included updates to 13 questions in English! Spanish coming soon!
In our Preparing for Court - By Yourself section, in the question What are some common objections?, we added links to all 12 categories of objections to make them easier to locate within the question. Changes made in Spanish and English.
We added 15 statutes related to custody to our Selected Idaho Statutes page.
We changed our general, non-state specific custody information for Idaho into a state-specific section. There are now 10 new Idaho-specific questions on the Idaho Custody page!
Based on recent law changes we reviewed and re-wrote the Puerto Rico Gun Laws section. Spanish translation coming soon!
Based on recent changes to the law, we reviewed and re-wrote the information on our Puerto Rico Divorce page. Spanish coming soon!
Based on recent changes to the law, we reviewed and re-wrote the information on our Puerto Rico Custody page. Spanish coming soon!
In our South Carolina Crimes page, we added the following 13 crimes and linked each to the actual language of the laws on our Statutes page:
- criminal sexual conduct with minors in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree
- engaging a child for sexual performance
- producing, directing, or promoting sexual performance by a child
- assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct
- incest
- peeping, voyeurism, or aggravated voyeurism
- spousal sexual battery
- criminal sexual conduct when victim is spouse
- indecent exposure
- kidnapping
- trafficking in persons.
We updated and reorganized our Iowa State Gun Laws section to make it more state law focused and easier to use. This included updates to 14 questions in English! Spanish coming soon!
We reviewed and expanded the Ohio Custody section to include 4 new questions. Spanish translation coming soon.
We added two local programs to our Maryland Local Programs page in English and Spanish- the Prince George’s County Family Justice Center and the Community Crisis Services.
We expanded the Connecticut Housing Laws to include 4 new questions for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault who need to terminate their lease for fear of immediate harm. Spanish translation coming soon.
We added the local program New Star Family Justice Center to our California Local Programs page in English and Spanish.
We created a completely new section in our South Carolina Restraining Orders section called Permanent Restraining Orders (based on a criminal conviction). In the section, we created 10 questions to explain who can get the order, how to get it, and what protections it offers.
We added 15 statutes about permanent restraining orders and related crimes to our Selected South Carolina Statutes page.
In response to an Email Hotline inquiry, we added Advocacy Center of Winona to our Minnesota Local Programs page.
We added three statutes to our Selected South Carolina Statutes page related to permanent restraining orders.
On our South Carolina Download Court Forms page, we added specific links to the following court forms: petition for a domestic violence order of protection, “notice and motion” to extend a domestic violence order of protection, “complaint and motion” for a restraining order based on harassment and stalking, and motion to extend a restraining order based on harassment and stalking.
We updated the following questions in our South Carolina Orders of Protection section to reflect the 2017 South Carolina Supreme Court decision that said requiring cohabitating couples to be of the opposite sex was unconstitutional as applied:
In addition, we added information about having to serve the respondent at least five days before the hearing in Step 4: Service of process.
On our South Dakota Places that Help page, we updated 89 resources as follows: 5 Statewide Programs, 18 Local Programs, 66 Courthouse Locations. All updates were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!
In our South Dakota Local Programs page, we added the following five programs: Beacon Center, Catholic Family Services – Aberdeen, Catholic Family Services – Brookings, Catholic Family Services – Pierre, and Catholic Family Services – Yankton. We also added the following three courthouses to our South Dakota Courthouse Locations page: Hand County - Third Judicial Circuit Court, Tripp County - Sixth Judicial Circuit Court, and Oglala Lakota County - Seventh Judicial Circuit Court. All additions were made in English and Spanish.
We updated and reorganized our Kansas State Gun Laws section to make it more state law focused and easier to use. This included updates to 14 questions.
We added the Mary Byron Project Appellate Advocacy Project to our National Organizations Appeals page in English and Spanish.
December 2020
Based on changes in the law, we updated five questions in the Washington Custody section. The changes reflect that there is no longer a non-parent custody section in the law, but rather a non-parent could apply for guardianship under the state’s probate law. Changes were made in English, Spanish coming soon!
Because of a new law in Washington that allows a judge to consider litigation abuse when making a decision about custody, we added a new question in the Washington Custody section called Can the judge restrict the parenting plan based on the conduct of the other parent? The new question is in English, Spanish coming soon!
We reviewed and re-wrote the information on our Puerto Rico Crimes page in English and Spanish. Based on this, we also added the criminal statutes of assault and attenuated severe assault (in Spanish).
On our Tennessee Crimes page, we added a link to the law regarding an unwed mother having custody of a child if there is no court order alongside the crime of custodial interference. This way, our users can have a better understanding of whether the crime of custodial interference would apply to their situation.
Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added a statute regarding an unwed mother having custody of a child if there is no court order to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.
We added five statutes to our Washington Selected State Statutes section.
We rewrote the Puerto Rico Suing an Abuser for Money page in both English and Spanish to better explain this process for victims of abuse.
On our North Carolina Download Court Forms page, we added a link in English and Spanish to a motion for contempt for violating a 50-B order.
With the help of ASISTA, we re-wrote the four questions on our Abuse in Immigrant Communities page to focus more on how abuse affects undocumented immigrants, in particular. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.
Thanks to help from ASISTA, we created a new question in our Refugee Status section in English, which is soon to be added in Spanish, called What are “grounds of inadmissibility”?
Thanks to help from ASISTA, we re-wrote five questions in our Refugee Status section in English. Spanish soon to come.
We added two statutes on Substantial Risk Orders in Virginia to our Selected Virginia Statutes page.
We created a Virginia Substantial Risk Orders page in English with seven questions about removing a firearm from a respondent who is at risk of causing harm. Spanish translation coming soon.
On our Missouri Download Court Forms page, we added links to the following forms:
- petition for an order of protection due to domestic violence
- sexual assault or stalking
- motion for renewal of a full order of protection
- motion to dismiss a petition for an order of protection
- request to terminate a full order of protection
- motion to modify a full order of protection
- forms related to custody and visitation
- forms related to small claims court.
We added a link to the petition for a domestic abuse protection order form as well as the instructions on how to fill out the petition to our Mississippi Download Court Forms page.
We added seven crimes-related statutes to our Selected Mississippi Statutes page.
Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added the following crimes in English and Spanish to our Virginia Crimes page: ”Use of profane, threatening, or indecent language over public airways or by other methods“ and “Threats of death or bodily injury to a person or member of his family.”
On our Selected Virginia Statutes page, we added two crime-related statutes in English.
We updated and reorganized our Indiana State Gun Laws section to make it more state law focused and easier to use. This included updates to 20 questions in English! Spanish coming soon!
Based on a 2020 addition to the law, we added the fact that a victim can file for a protective order in a state military court to Step 1: Go to court and request the forms for a protective order in our Mississippi Protective Orders section.