Protective Orders and Other Civil Laws for Your Protection
If you or any child of your family
is being physically harmed by another family or household member, or
if physical harm is threatened against you or a child, or if a child
in your care is being sexually abused, you can get a protective
order from the municipal court in you town, the justice court of
your county, the county court or the chancery court. The judge of
any of these courts can order the person who is threatening or
abusing you or your children not to come within a certain distance
of you whether you are in the family home, at your work place, or
anywhere else. It may spell out other protections that you need. The
judge may order that you stay in the family home and the abuser move
out. The discretion that a judge has in issuing an order for the
protection of domestic violence victims is broad and can be adapted
to your particular situation.
The existence of a protective
order puts you in what the law calls a "special relationship" with
local law enforcement officers and they have a duty to see that the
protective order is obeyed. If the person breaks the terms of the
protective order, he can be arrested and can be held in contempt of
court and sent to jail.
You do not need a lawyer to get a
temporary protective order; the clerk of the court can help you fill
out the forms that you need. If you have trouble getting this done,
the director of the domestic violence shelter in your area can help
you get whatever assistance you need in filing the forms with the
court. Although a temporary protection order can be issued by any of
the courts listed above, it is usually easier and faster to get the
order from municipal or justice court.
The temporary protective orders
are good for ten days, but may be extended for another twenty days.
If protection is needed longer than that, a hearing must be held in
chancery court and notice must be given to your abuser of the date
and time of the hearing; both you and you abuser will have the
chance to give evidence to a judge. At this point, it would be
better for you to be represented by an attorney, or at least get
legal advice. Again, the domestic violence shelter in your area can
help you with this. A protective order issued by the chancery court
after a hearing is good for one year.
When you apply for a protective
order, you must be able to prove to a judge that you have been a
victim of violence or that you have good reason to fear future
violence. You will need to tell him of specific incidents when you
have been assaulted or have been put in fear that you will suffer
bodily harm. If you have witnesses to the assaults or threats, take
them with you. If they will not come willingly with you to court,
they can be issued a subpoena by the court ordering them to come to
the hearing.
If you have moved into Mississippi
and you have a protective order issued by a judge in another state,
you are entitled to have that order enforced in this state. The
order from another state is good until the date on the face of the
order, or if there is no date, it is good for one year from the date
it is issued.
Getting a protective order from a
court can be confusing if you are not familiar with the court
system, and most people aren't. Don't be afraid or ashamed to ask
for help. If the clerk of the court where you apply for the order
won't or can't give you the help you need, call or go to the area
domestic violence shelter. The shelters all have personnel who are
thoroughly familiar with the process involved in getting a
protective order; they will be glad to help you.
Once you have a protective order,
you need to make several copies of it as soon as possible. You
should keep a copy of it with you at all times, leaving copies at
home, at your workplace, at your children's school or daycare, in
your car, with a friend. If your workplace has a security guard,
make sure that he is aware of the protective order; if not, let your
boss or someone else know of its existence, so they can immediately
call the police if your abuser shows up there.
Take a copy of your protective
order to the police station in your town, or to the sheriff's office
if you live outside the city limits, and ask them to let the
officers who patrol in your neighborhood know that you have been
granted protection from this person by a court.
If you move to another county
while the protective order is in effect, you should go to the
chancery clerk of that county and show them a copy of your order.
You should also go to local law enforcement of that city or county
and give them a copy. If you move to another state after you get a
protective order in Mississippi, your are entitled to protection
from law enforcement in that state. You should take your protective
order as soon as you can to the clerk of the court in the county
where you are now living.
Law Enforcement Assistance
If you have been forced to leave
your home because of violence or threats of violence, you are
entitled to have a law enforcement officer go back to the home with
you to protect you while you get clothes, food, medication or other
personal property necessary for you and your children to live away
from the home until the matter can be decided in a court. The
officer who responds to this request for help is supposed to take
whatever steps are necessary to protect you form harm during your
trip to your home.
This law also requires that the
officer advise you of any sources available in the community for
shelter, medical care, counseling and other services and that he
transport you to these facilities if you need transportation and if
they are within his jurisdiction.
Domestic Violence Shelters
By law, there must be at least one
domestic violence shelter in each of the nine Mississippi Highway
Safety Patrol Districts. The shelters (currently there are 12 in the
state) receive state and federal funding to provide a place to stay,
food, counseling and other assistance to persons who are victims of
domestic abuse and to their children. The addresses of the most of
the shelters are kept secret to protect the residents, but the phone
numbers and addresses are known to local law enforcement officers
and to others (hospitals, clinics, etc.) who may be called upon to
provide help to domestic violence victims.
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The Domestic Abuse Shelters of Mississippi are there to provide
services to the families affected by domestic violence. Services
provided by local shelters include:
24 Hour Crisis Line offers crisis intervention and
counseling as well as emergency referrals for women and children who
are victims of domestic violence.
Temporary Housing and essential needs for woman and
their children who are in need of protection. Families can be
admitted on a 24 hour basis.
Advocacy and Referrals for medical care, legal
assistance, housing, training programs, counseling, continuing
education, employment and any other community resource that is
needed.
Counseling is offered as a group and individually
in the shelter. Supportive counseling is offered off-site to those
who are not in need of protection. Shelter children are provided
with individual counseling, group counseling and educational programs
through the Children's Program. Some shelters offer specialized
programs for domestic violence abusers.
Transportation to a safe place and to community
agencies.
Educational Outreach is available for community
groups, professional organizations and schools.
Columbus
Safe
Haven, Inc.
Serving: Attala, Calhoun, Chicksaw, Choctaw, Clay, Lowndes, Monroe,
Montgomery, Oktibbeha, and Webster Counties800-890-6040
662-327-6040P.O. Box 5354
Columbus, MS
39704-5354 OxfordDomestic Violence
Project, Inc.
Serving: Coahoma, DeSoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Quitman,
Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica and Yalobusha Counties800-227-5764
601-234-5085P.O. Box 286
Oxford, MS
38655 TupeloS.A.F.E., Inc.
Serving: Alcorn, Benton, Itawamba, Lee, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Union,
Tippah and Tishomingo Counties800-527-7233
662-841-2273P.O. Box 985
Tupelo, MS
38802-0985
Jackson
Catholic
Charities, Inc.
Serving: Hinds, Issaquena, Madison, Rankin, Sharkey, Simpson, Warren
and Yazoo Counties800-273-9012
601-366-0222P.O. Box 2248
Jackson, MS
39225-2248 MeridianCare Lodge
Serving Clarke, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee,
Scott and Winston Counties.601-693-HOPE
(4673)
P.O. Box 5331
Meridian, MS
39302 VicksburgHaven House Family Shelter
Serving: Hinds, Issaquena, Madison, Rankin, Sharkey, Simpson, Warren
and Yazoo Counties800-898-0860
601-638-0555P.O. Box 57
Vicksburg, MS
39181
BiloxiGulf
Coast Women's Center For Non-Violence, Inc.
Serving: George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone
Counties800-800-1396
228-435-1968P.O. Box 333
Biloxi, MS
39533 LaurelDomestic Abuse Family Shelter
Serving: Covington, Forrest, Greene, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones,
Lamar, Marion, Perry, Smith and Wayne Counties800-649-1092
P.O. Box 273
Laurel, MS
39441-0273 NatchezThe Guardian Shelter For
Battered Families
Serving: Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Jefferson,
Lawrence, Lincoln, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson Counties800-273-6938
601-442-0142P.O. Box 1225
Natchez, MS
39121 PascagoulaThe Salvation Army
Domestic Violence Shelter
Serving: George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone
Counties800-382-7649
228-762-8267P.O. Box 630
Pascagoula, MS
39568
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