From what you’ve seen in your practice, why are women prone to stay in an abusive relationship and what is the tipping point for someone to request help and say, “Enough is enough?”
James Knox: I don’t know that I could say that as far as my criminal cases, and I don’t know that I have a general answer for you in the family law cases that we handle when I’m representing the victims of these cases. I think it’s specific to that individual. I don’t think there is any guideline that I could say there is a tipping point or there isn’t a tipping point.
I’ve seen cases where I’ve represented the victim in the family law case where it was the first instance where there was any domestic abuse. I’ve represented victims who have had multiple encounters and negative contacts with their spouse or cohabitant over the years. So I don’t think we could generalize that at all. I think it really just depends on the individual.
Stephen Levine, is a Board Certified Specialist in Criminal Defense — an honor achieved by only the top criminal law attorneys in California. Mr. Levine has over 40 years of experience in criminal defense and family law serving Southern California, and is a highly regarded Super Lawyer as well as AV Rated attorney.