Brittany DeVries, Class of 2018, was selected as the First Place Winner of the Ninth Annual Family Law Writing Competition. Her paper, "Safe Haven Reopening: Lowering the Custody Modification Standard to Reopen an Initial Agreement in Cases of Domestic Violence" will be published in the October 2018 issue of the Family Court Review (FCR). Hofstra Law and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) sponsored the competition; it is run in cooperation with the Center for Children, Families, and the Law at Hofstra Law. FCR contributes to and facilitates discourse among the judicial, legal, mediation, mental health, and social services communities.
The paper argues that the custody modification standard required to reopen an initial custody order should be lowered when evidence of domestic violence that was not before the court in the initial hearing phase is plausibly alleged and corroborated. "Too often, victims of domestic violence agree to custody arrangements that separate them from their children because they are too scared to negotiate, are railroaded in court because they do not have the resources to fight for custody, or are too scared to tell the judge what has been going on in their home," Ms. DeVries said. "I argue that domestic violence definitions in the court room should be broadened to their non-physical and unreported forms of violence, which some psychologists and researchers have labeled 'coercive control.'"
Coercive control treats domestic violence as a type of criminal duress or coercion. "By interpreting states' domestic violence statutes that are already in place to acknowledge situations of potential duress or coercion,” Ms. DeVries said, “safe haven reopenings remain within the judges' purview and can be legally applied without compelling arduous statutory changes from the legislature."
Prior to law school, Ms. DeVries was a family law paralegal in Richmond, Virginia. During that time, she recognized that undisclosed domestic violence–both physical and coercive–was a recurrent problem for many clients who came to the firm looking for help. Because of this previous experience, the topic of her paper came to her easily, as it was an issue that she had been thinking about for awhile.
Catherine J. Ross, Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor, explained that Ms. DeVries approached her with a well-conceived idea. "We worked together, talking it through to refine her idea. Like many students, she wanted to cover everything and we needed to figure out the scope of the paper," Professor Ross said. “Then she ran with it–doing very thorough research and showing great patience and attention to detail” in the revision process.
Ms. DeVries shared that Professor Ross helped her develop her idea into a persuasive argument, saying, "She instills in her students not only the skills necessary to write and analyze as sound legal advocates, but also a passion for the law." She submitted her final paper after receiving encouragement from Professor Joan S. Meier, a leading expert on domestic violence and the law.
"I am so pleased that Brittany received this well-deserved recognition for her excellent research and hard work. It was a pleasure to work with her on this project," Professor Ross said. In addition to publication, Ms. DeVries will receive a cash prize, among other honors.
"My argument is very hands-on. When attorneys are confronted with these situations, I want them to begin weaving these arguments into their petitions for modification," Ms. DeVries said. "I hope that being published emboldens more attorneys to recognize the breadth of domestic violence and feel like they have immediate legal tools to pursue a solution to these problems in the courtroom."