The legal process

Criminal Court

The legal process begins when a victim is referred to Tubman. Referrals are most commonly made through the police or by people calling themselves. Legal advocates will also watch the court calendars loking for cases involving victims of domestic abuse.

A Tubman advocate will obtain the police reports to find out some information about you and the abusive partner, along with the description of what happened and what the charges are.

After the general information is gathered, an advocate will contact you and explain how a no contact order works and the criminal court process as well as what the advocate's role will be in assisting you.

The first court appearance is the arraignment. This is where the defendant is told the charge and they enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. The judge will also tell the defendant if there are any conditions that he/she must adhere to, for example a No Contact Order. If a plea of guilty is entered a pre-sentence investigation is ordered and a sentencing date is scheduled.

If a plea of not guilty is entered, the process moves onto the second court appearance, called the pre-trial stage. During the pre-trial the prosecutor will meet with you and talk about the case and find out what you would like to happen. The prosecutor will also meet with the defendant and try to resolve the issue. It is at this point that the majority of cases are settled. If a settlement is not reached, then the case will go to a jury trial.

The length of time spent on the case may vary from person to person. If you call in a complaint to the police, the police have 12 hours to take the perpetrator into custody. After 12 hours, the perpetrator is issued a citation. If a perpetrator is taken into custody, the arraignment is held within 36 hours. If a citation is issued, it could be up to a month before the arraignment. It usually takes four weeks from the arraignment to the pretrial, and another two to four months for a jury trial.


Civil Court

The only time a Tubman advocate can appear with you in family court is if you are trying to get an Order For Protection, commonly referred to as an OFP. If the abuser is served with a notice for an OFP and shows up for the court date, he/she can admit to the allegations, deny the allegations but agree to the OFP, or contest the OFP. If it's contested, then the case will go to an evidentiary hearing. An evidentiary hearing can happen the same day or be scheduled for another day. The judge will listen to each side of the case and decided to either issue the OFP or dismiss it.

If the abusive partner has been served with the notice for an OFP and does not show up for the court date, the OFP is issued. If the abusive partner has NOT been served with a notice for an OFP, the court will continue the case. Depending on the judge, the notice for the OFP may be sent by certified mail, or printed in a legal newspaper.

After someone has filed for an OFP, an advocate will bring the order to the judge either that same day or the next business day. The first court appearance is scheduled within seven days of the judge receiving the OFP. If the abusive partner shows up for court and accepts the OFP, then the OFP is granted. If the abusive partner does not show up and has been notified about the OFP, the OFP is granted. If the abusive partner has not been notified, then the case is continued, usually about two weeks.