New 5th District Chief Judge works to better protect domestic violence victims, families

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — The Chief Judge-elect for Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit Court has already started working to change procedures in an effort to better protect victims of domestic violence and their families.

Chief Judge-elect Sue Robbins has spent nearly 20 years on the bench and has watched during that time as the injunction process expanded.

She realized there was a gap when it came to orders concerning domestic violence and has issued an administrative order to help close it.

“One of the things that we were missing before is that we weren’t really looking at families in the context of families,” Robbins said.

The new order will help establish consistency by speeding up the process and increasing protection and access to housing, especially in cases involving children, Robbins said.

The order will be implemented as a team effort involving the community and numerous agencies, including law enforcement, the courts, domestic violence shelters and the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Guidelines in the new order will ensure all cases involving a family will be heard by the same judge; will grant the court access to related filings in the case; will allow victims to file injunctions after hours; and give victims more options to feel protected from an alleged abuser.

“It will allow that person to have the privacy to perhaps file again later, or to amend, or make other safety plans without having that information provided to the (alleged perpetrator),” Robbins said.

These changes, which go into effect July 1, are only the start, she added, saying there is potential for more to be enacted in the future.

“This was just one (issue) that was a burning sense that we needed to do as well as we possibly could, and I’m not sure we’re done with it yet,” Robbins said.

The Fifth Judicial Circuit is comprised of Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter counties, and Robbins said she plans to implement the changes throughout the circuit.

Cox Media Group