Over many years of practice, we have learned that context is one of the imperatives to give to a court to avoid pitfalls in litigation in a domestic violence, child custody case. Obtaining a domestic violence restraining order may require only the testimony of a single incident, but the history of the relationship is imperative and provides context. While an entire history may not be necessary to prove the case to obtain the restraining order, the relationship history is strategically essential to chronicle if there are children and custody is in dispute.

Every jurisdiction has its own legal standard to grant domestic violence protections. It is important for the attorney and client to know the law in their jurisdiction. It is well known that domestic violence cases can become among the most contested child custody cases, in part because abusers fight to try to maintain control. Therefore, the attorney representing a victim must also know the actual science and seek to keep unscientific testimony from being used in testimony. It is imperative for the attorney to know what is acceptable scientific evidence and what the standard for proof is regarding a protective order and custody and be able to object to its improper usage as well as what the actual science is.

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