Findings & Opportunities for Action and Change from Sexual Assault Protection Order (SAPO) Case Review

Opportunities for Action and Change

‍ “Since the night of my assault, my life has changed. I am a completely different person… I feel unsafe leaving my home or even going outside.”
- SAPO petitioner/survivor

The Commission on Sexual & Domestic Violence is a recipient of a 3-year, $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, Justice for Families grant program. The funding supports the Commission, DVSAS, LAW Advocates, and training and technical assistance needs; Whatcom County District and Superior Courts are also project partners.

Justice for Families grant goals are to:

• Improve civil and family court processes to be accessible, easy to navigate, trauma-informed, and procedurally just for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

• Create welcoming, standardized, and clear civil court processes to achieve language access for survivors for whom written and spoken English is not their first language.

The Justice for Families grant supports our community capacity to achieve the opportunities for change and action described below. The Commission on Sexual & Domestic Violence will be responsible for initiating all activities listed under “how to address,” below.

1. Increase approval rates of temporary orders by generally reinstating the daily ex-parte hearing calendar for temporary order review.

   Why?

   Whatcom County is unique in the State for having very high rates of denial for temporary protection orders (SA and DV). Denying a temporary order puts petitioners/survivors at risk during what is often the most dangerous time for them—when they are leaving a relationship and/or letting the respondent/offender know that the legal action has been started against them. The burden of requiring a respondent to stay away from a petitioner for two weeks is lower than the burden of a petitioner to have to increase safety planning (instead of focusing on hearing preparation) due to the increase in risk and danger. Denying a temporary order also means that the petitioner/survivor is responsible for service of the order and must pay for that. Furthermore, denial of an order means that there is no protection for the petitioner/survivor when there are continuances and delays.

   How to address?

   Meeting with District Court presiding judge.

2. Ensure all judicial officers (judges, commissioners, and pro tem) have regular and sufficient training in the following areas:

   •Dynamics of sexual assault, power and coercion, and myths and misconceptions about sexual assault and consent

   •Neurobiology of trauma and trauma responses (fight, flight, fawn/appease, freeze, fine, faint), with particular attention to fawn and fine responses

   •Experience of pro se petitioners with limited experience with legalese, legal system, trials, and legal paperwork (and increased burden on petitioners who may be unhoused, Native, LGBTQ+, and/or without community support)

   •Implicit bias and interrupting bias in the courtroom

   •Standard of preponderance of evidence in civil SA protection orders (what evidence or statements can be used to meet this standard)

   How to address?

   Meeting with District and Superior Court presiding judges to make plans for initial training for judicial officers and to make a plan for ongoing training. Meeting with consultants who will provide judicial training to share these areas of focus.

3. Identify a system within the Court and then appoint attorneys for pro se petitioners/ survivors when the respondent has an attorney.

   How to address?

   Meeting with District and Superior Court presiding judges. Quarterly meetings with court administrators, advocates, and civil legal aid.

4. Improve access to DVSAS advocacy and support by providing specific information on what DVSAS can help with as a handout at the front desk at District Court, and as an attachment to emails that District Court sends to petitioners. Maintain the civil legal advocate position hosted at the courthouse and increase DVSAS’s open office/drop-in hours.

   How to address?

   Quarterly meetings with court administrators, advocates, and civil legal aid.

5. Achieve meaningful language access and disability access throughout the court process, including getting information, filling out forms, navigating the courthouse, and participating virtually.

   This can occur through review of the county’s language access plan, training for judicial officers, training for interpreters, training for bilingual advocates and service providers, and reviews of community support agency language access plans, all in consultation with grant technical assistance providers who have expertise in these areas.

   What are examples of what needs to be addressed?
   Courthouse signage throughout the building, updates to website with clear language, protection order kiosks at the courthouse and/or other locations throughout the county, laptops at locations throughout the county to be used for virtual access, wheelchair access, translation of documents and petitions for people who can’t fill them out in written English, and number of qualified and certified interpreters.

   How to address?
   Quarterly meetings with court administrators, advocates, and civil legal aid. Technical assistance from the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence (API-GBV), Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Service (ADWAS), and Wandke Consulting.

6. Develop clarity on the preparation that is expected of all judicial officers in advance of a hearing (e.g. the petition, response, and all supporting documents should be reviewed in advance).

   How to address?
   Meeting with District and Superior Court presiding judges.