WABI: New Bill Aims To Further Protect Domestic Violence Victims

By Rob Poindexter

Read more here

A new measure being considered by Maine lawmakers would make it illegal for accused domestic violence abusers to contact their alleged victims from jail, prior to making an appearance in court.

Current state law mandates that those people accused of serious domestic violence offensed must go before a judge to have their bail set before being released from jail. It can sometimes be 48 hours or longer before the alleged abuser can see a judge.

“But there’s a window of time between when someone’s been accused of domestic violence, when they go to jail and when the bail is actually set. And in that window of time, there’s still the ability for them to contact the victim and potentially harass and terrorize that victim,” said State Senator Emily Cain of Orono.

Domestic violence advocates say there’s an escalating problem when it comes to alleged abusers contacting their victims from jail while awaiting their bail hearings, which is legal since any no-contact orders have not yet been issued by a judge.

Julia Colpitts, Executive Director of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, says this sort of contact is becoming more and more common and the time has come to put a stop to it.

“And you can imagine that in what should be a protected space for them to figure out their next steps, being called by this person who has just beaten or strangled them is terrifying,” Colpitts said.

A new proposal introduced by Cain would do just that. Her bill, LD 1656, strengthens a number of existing laws aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence. One thing it would do is make it a separate crime for someone accused of domestic violence to contact their alleged victim from jail while waiting to see a judge. The accused could face an additional $2,000 fine and up to 364 days in jail. But the proposal has raised some legal questions.

Attorney General Janet Mills, who supports the measure, plans to issue a brief to lawmakers suggesting that corrections officers provide notice to new inmates when they arrive at jail. This would clear up the largest legal issue brought up at Monday’s hearing regarding Cain’s bill.

“Yes, there’s a notice issue. I recognize that,” said Mills. “We hope the jail administrators, who have been involved in drafting this bill, will be able to put a notice up by the jail. Put a notice up at the entrance to the jail, ‘if you are under arrest for a domestic violence crime, you may not engage in contact, direct or indirect contact, with the victim because it may constitute a new crime’. Put people on notice that way.”

All of the legal issues are expected to be ironed out during a work session in the coming weeks before the bill receives its first vote.