Ruling will help disarm domestic violence abusers
An appeals court ruling will help get guns out of the hands of thousands of people accused of domestic violence each year in Washington, according to victim advocates.
The March 19 ruling could signal a dramatic shift in the way that judges view “weapons surrender” orders that are typically filed in civil domestic violence protection orders.
“We hold that the restrained person has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that they have surrendered their firearms and other dangerous weapons,” wrote judge Michael Spearman of the Washington State Court of Appeals.
The ruling means that the burden to prove that all weapons have been turned over to police rests with the person served with a protection order, not the victim, according to Chris Anderson from the Seattle City Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Unit.
The decision comes in the case of a King County woman named Cassie, who received a domestic violence protection order against her ex-husband, who lives in Oregon.
He surrendered some firearms when ordered by King County judge Jean Rietschel.
But Cassie provided photographic proof that husband owned more than 30 guns and that not all had been accounted for.
The appeals court reversed Rietschel’s finding that Cassie’s husband had substantially complied with her order, and said that it is up to the “respondent” in a protection order – the person who is restrained by the order – to prove that they have turned all their firearms over to police.
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