Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002 | 11:08 a.m.
Two out of every five court-issued protective orders in Clark Couny last year -- most sought by women trying to escape domestic violence -- were not presented to the assailants.
The Clark County numbers match a study released Friday of a sampling of court hearings that shows 40 percent of temporary protective orders were not served. Domestic violence workers said the numbers show that women seeking help were ultimately let down by the legal system.
"If someone has the fear and they have gone to court, and see this as a remedy and it doesn't work, it just reinforces everything he (the abuser) has told her," said said Sue Meuschke, executive director of Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence.
"(An abused woman) has been told (by the abuser) that, 'I have all the power,' and, 'There is no way out for you.' This just reinforces what she has been told by him."
Meuschke said the intent of the study isn't to point fingers, but rather to illustrate a problem in need of a solution.
"Is it about resources and the lack of them? Are police so overwhelmed they can't get all the protection orders served? Is it that the batterers are sophisticated (enough) to avoid the service?" she asked. "We have a breakdown, and we need to get together and determine how we fix this."
The study by the Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence, in cooperation with the state attorney general's office and the Nevada Supreme Court, examined 1,113 protection order hearings.
Last year courts issued 5,990 temporary protection orders to be served in Clark County; county workers served 3,421 of the orders, or only about 57 percent.
Along with the nearly 6,000 protection orders to be served, the civil process section, composed of nine deputies who are county employees but supervised by a Metro Police corrections lieutenant, also had a large number of other papers -- garnishments, summonses and warrants, for example -- to serve.
In 2000 about 61 percent of the temporary protection orders were served -- 3,148 out of 5,131; in 1999 about 60 percent were served -- 2,580 out of 4,254.
"We go to the address that is given to us by the applicant, but sometimes someone else opens the door and says, 'Well, he's not here,' " Lt. Ernie Smith said. "We go to his work and sometimes we find that he hasn't worked there in a week or a month or even a year."
Smith said deputies try to serve orders several times, but when they expire -- after 30 days -- the orders are returned to the court.
If an order is never served, it cannot be violated.
"Law enforcement officials must exercise leadership to ensure that prompt service of protection orders in their communities is given a high priority," the study says. "Anything less than this sends a message to battered women that their safety is inconsequential."
Sgt. Tom Wagner of Metro's domestic violence unit said police take seriously the service and violation of temporary protection orders. If an order, once served, has been violated, an arrest will be made, he said.
However, temporary protection orders cannot protect women from violence, as illustrated by the murder of Donna Hernandez in October 1999 by her ex-husband. Hernandez, who was a Family Court clerk, had sought several orders over the years.
Fernando Hernandez was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
"Even if you have a protection order, you have to have a plan to keep yourself safe," said Lisa Lynn Chapman, a spokeswoman for Safe Nest, an organization that provides help for those facing the threat of domestic violence. "The protection order is only part of the process."
Battered women take the step to ask for a temporary protective order. The authorities then need to make sure whatever legal weight the order holds is applied, Meuschke said.
"The protective order doesn't stop a bullet. It doesn't stop a knife, but if we are offering it, there should be some validity behind it," Meuschke said. "If it never gets served, it will never stop anything."
archive
