Guidelines On Abuse Prevention Proceedings: Navigating Rough Seas [1]

• Article written by Rebecca Cazabon, Pro Bono Managing Attorney at Foley Hoag LLP.
• Explains how the Guidelines for Judical Practice can be utilized as an effective resource in navigating complex issues that can develop in abuse prevention hearings.
• Provides examples of how the Guidelines are also regularly applied by courts to support and refine their understandings of domestic violence law.
• 2011 Guidelines incorporate diverse issues such as:
  • recent transformations in social media
  • a practical appellate-court-case-compiled analysis of what a plaintiff must show to extend a 209A protective order.
• Guidelines for Judicial Practice: Abuse Prevention Proceeding. [2] Last updated in September 2011.