Domestic Violence

As a domestic violence attorney who has handled hundreds ofcases both criminally and civilly (Domestic Violence Protection Orders) in Vancouver, Washington and elsewhere, I have seen this area of law change dramatically over the last 20 plus years.  Washington State has added a new law effective June 11, 2020 to cases involving domestic violene.  Specifically, the State of Washington State

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(n) If the court expressly finds based on the evidence that contact between the parent and the child will not cause physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or harm to the child and that the probability that the parent’s or other person’s harmful or abusive conduct will recur is so remote that it would not be in the child’s best interests

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This article is part two involving limitations of a parent’s time with their child as stated under RCW 26.09.191.  We continue the article by discussing the rebuttable presumption for parents or the person(s) they live with that have been convicted of certain sex offenses.  As this is a very technical part of the law, the statute is essentially given to

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As a family law/divorce attorney in Vancouver, Clark County, WA, I am frequently asked in the course of my work how to limit the parenting plans for the other parent.  Washington law proscribes situations where the parenting time with a child can be limited by the court for a parent.  To be clear, these are very limited and specific circumstances

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As a family law/divorce attorney in Vancouver, Clark County, WA, I am frequently asked about how someone with a domestic violence history may be treated by the court when in a custody battle, i.e. trying to establish a parenting plan.  Well under RCW 26.09.191 proven domestic violence can greatly impact a parent’s time with their child or children in a

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In my capacity as a criminal defense/assault attorney in Vancouver, WA, in a recent article I wrote, I detailed the use of self-defense in Assault in the Fourth Degree and Assault in the Fourth Degree Domestic Violence cases, using a recent jury trial I had won to illustrate the criminal defense aspect of self-defense in Washington.  If you are successful

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I recently won a jury trial for Assault in the 4th Degree Domestic Violence based upon a theory of self-defense. The specific situation involved one spouse who reasonably believed that he was about to be injured based upon the actions and statements of the other spouse. While the other spouse did not actually injure my client, the circumstances presented a

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As a criminal defense attorney in Vancouver, Clark County, WA that handles a wide-variety of criminal defense cases ranging from: Attempted Murder, Vehicular Homicide, Felon Strike Offenses, DUI, Domestic Violence Offenses, Sexual Assaults, Drug Offenses, Theft and other criminal defense matters. In my experience, I have seen the State prosecution do things in the late stages of moving a case

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She set mobile home ablaze after boyfriend broke up with her By Jessica Prokop, Columbian Courts Reporter Published:May 26, 2017, 8:00 PM Summary ​A La Center woman who set multiple fires inside the mobile home she was renting, following a breakup with her then-boyfriend, was sentenced Friday to nine months in jail. ​ Cindy Jo Clem, 50, previously pleaded guilty

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As an attorney, I have been involved in Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) litigation on both sides in multiple jurisdictions in Washington State. What I have learned is that jurisdictions vary greatly in regards to the amount of time, and the type of evidence that they will entertain in evaluating the merits of a Domestic Violence Protection Order case. Some

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