In April the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that domestic violence protective orders could not be issued in cases where neither party to the complaint was living with the other.
Laura P. Wiley had obtained a protection order against her boyfriend, Charles Barnett. Wiley claimed that Barnett had threatened to kill her and had tailed her car “in a reckless manner.”
Barnett challenged the protection order on the grounds that domestic violence protection orders could only be issued when a couple was cohabitating. Since he and Wiley did not live together, then, an protection order could not be issued against him.
Two courts upheld the order, but the Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the decision. Writing for the majority, Justice Martin Johnstone wrote that while the law “should be construed liberally in favor of protecting victims,”
But the construction cannot be unreasonable. The phrase ‘living together’ implies some sort of cohabitation.
Source:
Court says domestic violence order not meant for ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ cases. Charles Wolfe, Associated Press, April 24, 2003.