11/15/2023 0 Comments Gag order border control![]() Sometimes, what people who have never experienced abuse don’t realize is that it can be healing to speak out about abuse. After that, it should be lifted, and you won’t have to worry about watching what you say about your abuser. Here’s a bit of good news to focus on: the gag order is most likely temporary and will only be in effect as long as the case is ongoing. However, warns Goldstein, these commissions are often severely underfunded (read: it’ll take a while to get a response) and, he says, “they’re often made up of a legal community who wants to protect judges.” I know, that’s not exactly hopeful. Each state should have one- you can search for your state here. You can also consider complaining to your state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct, an independent state agency that investigates complaints of judicial misconduct. You can find out more details about appealing a court order here. However, appeals are often pricey, take time and the process is complicated, three barriers that prevent many survivors from going forward. So, what can you do? There’s always the option to appeal a judge’s decision, which means a higher court will review the decision from the lower court. Goldstein says he’s known judges who have threatened to take a child away from their mother if she speaks out about the family court process on social media. ![]() “Judges also use gag orders to avoid criticism of themselves-they frame it as protecting the child, but it’s protecting the judge. They’ve made a bad call that’s harming the child and don’t want any public criticism. But Goldstein argues these orders only serve to further empower abusive fathers by forbidding a protective parent from asking their children questions about abuse, or bringing up that abuse in court, that may have occurred when children were alone with the abuser, a fact abusers knowingly take advantage of. Sometimes, gag orders are issued with the intent to protect children by preventing parents from speaking disparagingly about the other parent. Goldstein says he’s seen gag orders go so far as to prevent a victim from speaking to a therapist, doctor, clergy member or even a victim’s advocate, a violation of a victim’s civil rights. “Usually say it’s on both parties, but they end up limiting what victims can say. They’re mainly used against women,” says Goldstein. “Gag orders are the ultimate means to silence and control. ![]() I spoke with long-time domestic violence advocate and former attorney Barry Goldstein, co-editor of Domestic Violence, Abuse and Child Custody about this controversial move some judges make and he said, unfortunately, gag orders are all too common. The abuser’s attorney accused the victim of publicly disparaging her ex-partner after the abuser, who was convicted twice before of domestic battery, physically assaulted the victim and kept her trapped in her home for nearly 16 hours in January. This past March, Crown Point, Indiana criminal court judge Diane Boswell issued a gag order against an accused abuser, his victim and their attorneys from speaking about the domestic violence allegations in public. Not that it makes the situation any better, but you’re not alone. ![]()
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