PARALEGAL
By Letter or By Spirit: Battling Domestic Violence
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wife comes home late and is met by her angry husband. He questions her about why she is late to which she responds she worked late. The husband does not believe her and becomes violent. He slaps her in the face causing her lip to bleed. She is crying and he is yelling vile names at her while pushing her against the wall. She is able to grab her phone to call the police who arrive to find her bruised and bleeding. They arrest her husband. Another couple live in an apartment building and their yelling during an argument prompts a neighbor to call the police. When the police arrive, there is a scratch with blood on the husband’s arm. When they inquire as to how the scratch happened, the husband says the wife scratched him with her ring by accident when she turned from him to go to their bedroom. The police arrest the wife. In comparison of the two cases, the police in the first case could clearly assess that the husband intentionally caused his wife physical harm; however, in the second case, the wife’s intent is not so easily evaluated. The husband states it was an accident and he has no other
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Dayton Bar Briefs January 2019
cuts or bruises on his body. By assessing both cases by the letter of the law, there is no distinction between the two. However, by assessing each incident by the spirit of the law, the two are very different. This raises the question of whether adherence by the letter of the law or by the spirit of the law would best address the domestic violence problem that plagues our communities. In the first case, this is the first time the wife has reported the abuse. Pursuant to the domestic violence statute, R.C. 2919.25(A), the husband committed domestic violence as he intended to physically harm his wife, which is a first-degree misdemeanor. The court has discretion to sentence the husband to anger management or another appropriate program in an attempt to end the abusive behavior. In addition, a protection order against the offender may be imposed upon the victim’s motion. However, “the criminal protection order will expire when the case is resolved or dismissed.” There is no mandatory prison sentence. The second case is much different. The wife scratched her husband with her ring by
By Sharalie Albanese Chair DBA Paralegal Committee
accident during an argument. The wife did not intend to harm her husband. In such a case, the responding officers should assess whether the incident is truly domestic violence. However, in the instant case, the police act by the letter of the law and, pursuant to R.C. 2919.25(B), arrest the wife for domestic violence. As domestic violence is caused by flawed human behavior and is unique to every situation, the assessment of each situation must be unique, as well. Each human being reads the same statute and that statute speaks to each human being in different ways. It is for this reason that the spirit of the law should also be considered when assessing a domestic violence situation as the laws exist to protect, not only physical wellbeing, but also quality of life. To combat domestic violence, each situation requires evaluation using practicality and the letter of the law. Did the person knowingly and intentionally inflict harm or cause another person to fear for their wellbecontinued on page 19
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