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Asked 12 months ago - Black Mountain, NC
FlagI actually didn't commit the crime but I took the advice of the Public Attorney and took a plea bargain. Now I have served 16 out of 18 months on probation and am getting violated because I can't afford to pay the fees for the DV classes and my probation fees.
No. There was no truth, in my professional opinion, to those who advocated to defeat Amendment One when they said it would effect domestic violence cases. The domestic violence law was written for people who live together in relationships, regardless of whether they are husband and wife. It could be boyfriend and girlfriend, two gay or lesbian people, or even a parent and child. So Amendment One has no effect on domestic violence laws in North Carolina.
With all due respect to Mr. Kelso, who is a very experienced domestic lawyer, I disagree with his answer. The seven professors that teach family law at the seven law schools in NC have also published comments that disagree with his view.
Here is why: The amendment says that a domestic union will not be "valid or recognized" as a matter of NC public policy and that the only union that will be valid or recognized is a marriage. We do not yet know how our courts will interpret this provision. It can be interpreted by a judge or an appellate court to abrogate our Chapter 50B domestic violence provisions for unmarried victims of domestic violence, because those unmarried victims are part of a "protected relationship" under that law that arguably will not longer be "valid or recognized" in light of the amendment. However, even if this happens, that does not mean that a person in your situation will neccessarily benefit from it. So the short answer for your situation is, it probably will not help you.
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