"...The Barwick-Ruschak Act, effective Oct. 1, 2008, is the latest law to empower dating-violence victims. In the past, those cases were not treated as domestic-violence cases. The law was named after University of Central Florida students Tiffany Barwick and Michael Ruschak, who in 2007 were fatally gunned down by Barwick's estranged boyfriend, Andrew Allred, in Oviedo.
The law extends to victims of dating violence the same type of protection victims of domestic violence have. Those include referral to a local domestic-violence center; the ability to file a criminal complaint with the state attorney; a police report of the alleged dating-violence incident regardless of whether or not an arrest is made; and assurance that the perpetrator will be held in custody until a first appearance in court.
Those protections previously applied only to married couples or unmarried couples who had children in common.
In order to receive those protections, however, a romantic dating relationship must have been established between a victim and the alleged perpetrator for at least six months. ...
A new law, effective this year, requires Florida school districts to include dating violence in health education curriculums and makes resources available to students who are victims of dating violence."
See full article --
To apply to join, or to send comments and suggestions, contact Marc Dubin, Esq., Chair, at mdubin@pobox.com or at 305 896 3000.
