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Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

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The Uniform Child Custody<br />

Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act [UCCJEA]<br />

and Domestic Violence: A Case Study<br />

In April 2002, New York became the 15th of now 48 states to adopt the new<br />

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act [UCCJEA].<br />

Replacing the prior statutory scheme known as the UCCJA (Uniform Child<br />

Custody Jurisdiction Act), the UCCJEA is now codified at Article 5-A of the<br />

Domestic Relations Law and contains important new provisions for victims of<br />

domestic violence. While intended to discourage interstate kidnapping by a noncustodial<br />

parent, the UCCJA did not distinguish between custodial interference<br />

and instances in which a victim of domestic violence flees with her children in<br />

order to secure safety from a batterer. With this new statutory scheme, the<br />

drafters stated that:<br />

It is the intent of the legislature in enacting this article to provide<br />

an effective mechanism to obtain and enforce orders of custody<br />

and visitation across state lines and to do so in a manner that<br />

ensures that the safety of the children is paramount and that<br />

victims of domestic violence and child abuse are protected. 1<br />

The UCCJEA and Disputes of Foreign Origin<br />

by Mary Rothwell Davis<br />

Just six months after the UCCJEA took effect, the Bronx County Integrated<br />

Domestic Violence (IDV) <strong>Court</strong> was presented with the first opportunity to<br />

consider whether this statutory scheme permitted it to assume jurisdiction of an<br />

ongoing custody matter involving allegations of domestic violence that had<br />

originated in the Dominican Republic. 2 The IDV <strong>Court</strong> hears cases with both<br />

criminal and family law matters involving allegations of domestic violence<br />

within a family. In Hector G. v Josefina P., Mr. G. was arrested in the Bronx in<br />

8

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