Domestic Violence Awareness: Creating Change Requires Year-Round Advocacy

Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the "Day of Unity" in October 1981 conceived by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). The intent was to connect advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children.

Today, organizations across the United States spread awareness of domestic violence throughout the month of October.

Child Justice approaches each client with one goal in mind: keeping children safe. We believe that raising awareness of family violence just one month out of the year is not sufficient. Our vision is a future in which every child's right to safety, dignity, and self-hood in a nurturing family is honored and protected. This kind of future requires year-round advocacy and awareness.

Do you, or someone you know, need help keeping your children safe from an abusive parent? Contact our team for help.

Donor Corner

THANK YOU to our latest donors! Donations of all sizes are greatly appreciated, and may be made on our website, Facebook or PayPal, or by check. Donations help support our legal services program. A huge thank you to Dawn for becoming a monthly donor!

Become a monthly donor of $20 or more by 12/31/23 and receive a special thank you gift!

To become a monthly donor, please click the button below and check the box marked "make this donation monthly."

Client Words of Thanks

Our legal team often receives kind words from former clients, which always fill us with joy. This work is tough and it truly means the world to know our efforts are appreciated.

"I just wanted to say thank you. From the bottom of my heart. I hope I did not come across as ungrateful. I am beyond grateful that my kids and I have you on our side. I truly do not trust him and I will go as far as to say that you have saved my kids."

- A Protective Mother

Save the Date for Giving Tuesday 2023

Giving Tuesday is November 28th.

We are seeking fundraising heroes to join us as we raise funds for Child Justice's mission. Heroes will receive their own fundraising page to share with their friends and family through the end of the year. Our goal is to raise $25,000.

Heroes that raise at least $250 will receive a Child Justice canvas tote bag!

To join us as a fundraiser, please click the button below and then click "Fundraise," located below the progress bar. It is quick and easy to sign up!

Sponsors Wanted for 2024 Spring Fundraiser

On May 18, 2024, we will gather Maryland officials, advocates, lawyers and friends to honor the many heroes of Child Justice. Would your company or law firm be interested in joining us as a sponsor? Sponsorships include many promotional benefits, including tickets to this exclusive event. To learn more, please visit the Partnership Opportunities page on the CJI website or submit an interest form.

Supreme Court of Maryland Rules on Watershed Expert Witness Case

In November 2022, we shared that Child Justice attorneys had submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of Maryland in support of certiorari that would overturn an erroneous decision about expert witness opinions from the Appellate Court of Maryland. Our brief discussed not only how the opinion was wrong as a matter of law, but also how if it was law in the past, it would have directly harmed two of our clients.

On January 20, 2023, the Court granted certiorari and mentioned Child Justice’s brief in its decision.

This past summer, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the appellate court reversing the summary judgment of the trial court in favor of Defendant because Plaintiff could not prove damages. The high court remanded the case to the circuit court for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.

To read the opinion, see Katz, Abosch, Windesheim, Gershman & Freedman, P.A. v. Parkway Neuroscience and Spine Institute, LLC, No. 30 (Aug. 31, 2023).

CJI Legal Director Quoted in ProPublica Article on Parental Alienation

In an article published by ProPublica on August 19, 2023, journalist Hannah Dreyfus continued her investigation into the problems that plague our nation's family court system. 

In this piece, she highlights parental alienation, a problem we see surfacing in many custody cases. This disputed psychological theory has been rejected by mainstream scientists yet has widespread influence on outcomes in family court.

Bringing in experts to educate the court about junk theories such as parental alienation is incredibly important in our custody cases. Your support makes this litigation strategy possible.

Advocacy Corner

Firearms in the Hands of Abusers?

On November 7th, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in United States v. Rahimi. The question presented is whether 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8), which prohibits the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, violates the Second Amendment on its face.

This case centers on the longstanding federal law that prohibits individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms, which the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held unconstitutional earlier this year. If the Supreme Court affirms the Fifth Circuit’s decision, it will upend a critical protection that has been in place for nearly three decades, allowing domestic abusers to possess firearms under federal law and putting domestic violence survivors in all 50 states and Washington D.C. at risk for gun violence. 

On October 17, a press conference and rally organized by Everytown for Gun Safety and the Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action was held in Rockville, Maryland to express outrage that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on a case that would allow domestic abusers to possess firearms. Two days later, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson was gunned down in his driveway hours after denying custody to an abuser, further spotlighting what can happen in these dangerous cases when an abuser has access to a gun.

The Rahimi case is extremely alarming to anyone involved in domestic violence prevention and advocacy. Research has shown that access to a gun makes it five times more likely that a woman will die at the hands of her abuser. And as the murder of Maryland Judge Andrew Wilkinson demonstrates, allowing abusers to possess firearms can have deadly consequences to others in the community.