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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, April 04, 2008
The
Arlington
police
force
is
working
to
ensure
that
all
its
officers
are
aware
of
a
new
directive
that
requires
officials
to
treat
domestic
violence
calls
for
same-sex
couples
in
the
same
way
that
such
cases
are
handled
for
straight
couples.
Police
Capt.
Michelle
Nuneville,
supervisor
of
Arlington
Police’s
Gay
&
Lesbian
Liaison
Team
(GLLT),
said
police
officers
are
being
informed
of
the
new
directive
during
roll
call
meetings
at
the
beginning
of
the
day.
The
police
force
also
intends
to
publish
the
new
procedure
on
information
sheets
for
officers,
she
said.
The
directive,
approved
Oct.
3,
requires
Arlington
magistrates
to
issue
warrants
and
protective
orders
for
domestic
violence
if
police
are
investigating
a
case
of
abuse
involving
same-sex
partners.
The
Juvenile
and
Domestic
Relations
Court,
which
handles
cases
of
domestic
violence
for
straight
couples,
is
also
required
to
hear
the
same-sex
cases.
The
chief’s
magistrate
office
“will
begin
issuing
processes
returnable
to
the
[Juvenile
Domestic
Relations
Court]
for
same-sex
partners,”
the
memo
states.
The
directive
was
distributed
to
the
Juvenile
and
Domestic
Relations
Court,
the
police
department
and
the
Commonwealth’s
Attorney’s
Office.
Officer
Loreann
Grimes,
assistant
team
leader
for
Arlington
Police’s
GLLT,
said
the
new
directive
puts
everyone
in
the
same
mindset
for
how
to
handle
cases
of
same-sex
domestic
violence.
“We’ve
been
working
on
…
informing
officers
and
everybody
that
this
is
the
way
that
it’s
going
to
happen,
so
there
shouldn’t
be
any
kind
of
confusion
on
what
kind
of
warrant
you’re
going
to
get,”
she
said.
Before
the
memo
was
released,
officials
could
treat
cases
of
domestic
violence
for
same-sex
couples
as
either
domestic
assault
or
simple
assault.
In
simple
assault,
the
victim
has
the
option
not
to
press
charges
and
the
case
is
heard
in
the
General
District
Court.
In
domestic
assault,
the
state
will
prosecute
the
offender
regardless
of
the
victim’s
wishes
and
the
case
is
heard
in
the
Juvenile
and
Domestic
Relations
Court.
Nuneville
said
officials
must
now
treat
all
cases
of
abuse
in
same-sex
relationships
as
cases
of
domestic
violence.
“Now
I
think
we’re
on
the
same
path,
all
the
magistrates
are
doing
the
same
thing,
and
those
cases
are
being
heard
by
the
two
judges
in
the
Juvenile
and
Domestic
Relations
Court,”
she
said.
Robert
Hellyer,
chief
magistrate
for
Virginia’s
17th
Judicial
District,
which
includes
Arlington
County
and
Falls
Church,
said
he
issued
the
directive
to
make
Arlington’s
policies
more
consistent
with
neighboring
counties.
Counties
such
as
Alexandria
and
Fairfax
already
have
such
directives
in
place,
Nuneville
said.
Police
Sgt.
Kip
Malcolm,
leader
of
Arlington
Police’s
GLLT
said
the
change
is
“basically
a
procedural
thing”
and
“doesn’t
really
do
a
whole
lot
different”
other
than
recognize
that
in
Arlington
“a
domestic
is
a
domestic”
and
that
the
gender
of
the
parties
doesn’t
matter.
Domestic
assault
and
simple
assault
are
both
classified
as
class
one
misdemeanors,
so
there
will
be
no
difference
in
jail
time
served
for
convicted
perpetuators.
However,
those
convicted
of
domestic
assault,
unlike
perpetuators
of
simple
assault,
are
forbidden
from
carrying
weapons
following
their
conviction.
There
is
also
a
greater
chance
that
a
judge
will
assign
anger
management
prevention
classes
in
cases
of
domestic
violence,
Malcolm
said.
The
directive
responds
to
Virginia
Attorney
General
Bob
McDonnell’s
interpretation
of
the
Marshall-Newman
Amendment,
which
prohibits
same-sex
marriage
in
Virginia.
The
attorney
general
released
his
opinion
before
voters
approved
the
amendment.
In
addition
to
stating
that
the
amendment
would
not
interfere
with
contracts,
wills,
medical
directives
and
other
agreements,
McDonnell
concludes
that
the
amendment
“will
not
modify
the
application
and
enforcement
of
Virginia’s
domestic
violence
laws.”
With
decisions
on
the
treatment
of
domestic
violence
cases
left
in
the
hands
of
localities,
Hellyer
brought
the
issue
to
the
attention
of
Arlington
officials
at
a
quarterly
meeting.
The
chief
magistrate
said
officials
informed
him
that
determining
how
to
handle
same-sex
domestic
violence
was
his
decision,
so
he
issued
the
directive.
Hellyer
had
no
statistics
on
the
number
of
domestic
violence
cases
involving
same-sex
partners
in
Arlington.
He
added
that
he
does
know
“we’ve
had
a
quite
a
few.”
According
to
a
one
study,
domestic
violence
happens
just
as
often
in
same-sex
relationships
as
it
does
in
straight
relationships.
In
2004,
the
National
Institutes
of
Health
found
that
more
than
one-fifth
of
gay
men
surveyed
in
New
York,
Chicago,
San
Francisco
and
Los
Angeles
had
been
physically
abused
by
a
partner
in
the
previous
five
years.
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