Story of Justice: Jill Pleads for Protection from Her Abuser

Story of Justice: Jill Pleads for Protection from Her Abuser

Background

In 2019, with the assistance of Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida (CCLA,) Jill was granted an injunction for protection against her physically abusive former boyfriend, Jerry. Jerry continued to contact Jill, violating the terms of the injunction. The violations were submitted to the State Attorney’s Office and a charge of Aggravated Stalking was filed against Jerry.

Jerry happened to be arrested for a different criminal offense in Flagler County and was held without bond in that county. Due to COVID-19, Jerry wasn’t being transported between counties for fear of contracting the virus and the criminal prosecution of Jerry in the Aggravated Stalking case came to an abrupt halt.

Assistance

The CCLA attorney maintained contact with the prosecutors in both counties and made sure that Jill was involved in all aspects of the criminal cases. In addition, conference calls were coordinated with the state attorneys and Jill so that she could be directly involved in plea negotiations.

Jill was very concerned that Jerry would try to contact and harass her if the cases did not include a strict no-contact order and a GPS monitoring device.

Why It Matters

After nearly a year of discussions and hearings, the parties were able to agree on a plea offer which made sure that Jill would be protected from the Defendant. The case was subsequently resolved and Jerry was placed on probation with house arrest conditions and a GPS monitoring device. Jill was relieved that the cases were resolved and that her concerns were directly addressed.