I am not sure about other states, I will put it on my list to research, but here in California, there were resources for us. The Victims of Violent Crime.
We were deemed victims by the CalVCB, but Judge Fred Link was able to say he didn’t think it happened to me and denied criminal restitution. Even more strange, his son Judge Daniel Link convicted her. Judge Link Senior also said that I was a La Jolla princess digging for gold. I am from #CHICAGO, a city I know he loves given all the #chicagobears paraphernalia in his courtroom. Lots more to say there, but I cannot unsee what I’ve seen in the Criminal Courts of San Diego. It is sobering to know what happens and how political and non-justice-based it really is.
We as a family had already applied and received compensation from the California Victims of Violent Crime Board. You have to qualify as the victim. Judge Link determined it didn’t happen to me. But I received lost wages, reimbursed co-pays for doctor visits, and therapy for our entire family.
Judge Link declared that I had no right to bring in my doctors for criminal restitution and that he could not read two summary sentences written to the court on my MRI indicating brain trauma. Therefore it didn’t happen. Every one of my doctors would have come to court for me. I have cried in all their offices several times. Every time I lost my job, my neck and back would go in the most horrible away, and they would help me get back together.
If you are a victim of violent crime in California, please got to CalVCB. I plan on posting a video on how to fill out the paperwork. I filled it out at least five times before I filled it outright. When you are hurt and stressed you can’t think right, and you certainly cannot fill this paperwork out right. If you someone put their hands on you in anger, strangled you, in front of your children. Your children need therapy. You need therapy. You can get help paying for this. These people are here to help you. These people helped us out a lot, especially in the critical just happened days when so much has gone wrong and you almost lost your life to domestic violence.
https://victims.ca.gov/victims/
Another fantastic resource for us was the Domestic Violence support at the family courthouse. I believe we made a mistake, even hiring attorneys. I think with their support; the victim can get through the system not having to pay anything close to the amount we did. We need to insist that criminals deal with custody in #criminalcourt. Emergency custody, then family court services can get involved. But it is entirely unfair that any victim of strangulation would have to pay money to defend themselves against someone already determined, already admitted guilt in criminal court but can step into family court and say they didn’t do it. That is so wrong. This is what happened to us; it needs to stop.
https://www.sandiego.gov/police/services/prevention/victimresources/domesticviolence
San Diego emergency responders are very well trained to address strangulation, and recent changes have provided protocol at the emergency room visit. There is an institute https://www.strangulationtraininginstitute.com. In 1995 the most extensive study on strangulation was done in San Diego. It was that because of this study SB430 passed in 2011 the Diane Gonzales Act making strangulation the most lethal form of domestic violence and a felony under Domestic Violence Laws. Stepparents like me, are not protected. Strangulation is not recognized outside domestic violence laws.
https://www.familyjusticecenter.org/downloads/training-institute-on-strangulation-prevention/
Strangled In La Jolla 