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General News: Domestic Violence Case Reinstated
August 19, 2009
A decision by a federal appeals court handed down on August 18 reinstates a lawsuit against the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson and members of its police department for failing to protect a woman’s right to due process when she called police to report domestic violence on several occasions.
The U.S. second circuit court of appeals reversed portions of a lower court ruling in a case brought by village resident Michelle Okin against several police officers in the village and town of Cornwall in which she claimed that the officers failed to adequately protect her from abuse by the father of her twin children. Her suit alleges that when she called the police to report being physically abused by her former boyfriend, Roy Sears, on several occasions in 2001, 2002 and 2003, her complaints were not taken seriously by responding officers. Okin never brought charges against Sears, though she did get an order of protection against him in 2002.
In 2006, a district court ruled in favor of the village and town police departments, finding that Okin was not denied due process and that her right to equal protection was not violated, thereby taking away her right to sue. That ruling was appealed, leading to this week’s decision. The new ruling says that there is evidence that Okin’s right to due process may have been denied when the officers failed to act, contributing to an increased risk of violence by Sears. The case may now go to a jury trial to weigh the facts in the case.
The circuit court did not reverse the lower court’s ruling on equal protection. It did, however, find the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, but not the town, could be held liable for failing to adequately train its police officers to handle incidents of domestic violence.
Okin’s attorney, Michael Sussman, hailed the ruling as a milestone decision in the area of domestic violence. “The decision is about police agencies and how they have to treat men or women who report domestic violence,” he said in a phone interview, noting that the panel of judges had singled out the lackadaisical response of some officers. “I hope it will change things.”
Village officials had not yet seen the decision when contacted on Wednesday.
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