For some victims of domestic violence, leaving their abuser can become a legal and financial nightmare. A divorce case may drag on, with the abusive spouse refusing to agree to the divorce and prolonging the case in order to maintain control over his/her victim. In Pennsylvania, all of that is about to change with a new law that will assume consent to a divorce under certain circumstances. House Bill 12, which was signed into law on April 24, 2016, creates an additional gro

This originally was published in the Harrisburg Patriot-News on September 9, 2015. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a tragedy that shocks the conscience and rattles a community's sense of security and serenity. Shortly before noon on Labor Day, just outside a popular Mount Gretna ice cream parlor, Patrick Derr, 47, of Richland, fatally shot h

Over the past several weeks, the Pennsylvania Legislature has passed one new bill and enacted two laws that will help victims of sexual assault, intimidation, and bullying. Each of these represents a step forward in the way that victims of violence are protected in our state by allowing more people to obtain orders of protection, making it more likely that sexual offenders will be prosecuted, and making cyber harassment of minors a crime. Check out these summaries of each of