There are many domestic violence related cases. Your course readings may provide you a glance at the major areas and premire cases. To find cases specific to your topic you will need to do some good old-fashioned searching.

In order to find cases relevant to your topic, try these tips:

• Use annotated codes to find cases which interpret the statute you are studying.
• Find cases mentioned by secondary materials-- also borrow terms of art and keywords from secondary sources.
• As with other areas of law, improve the accuracy of your searches by using boolean & proximity.
• When using WestlawNext look for topic & key numbers relevant to your subject.

• Congress.gov
• 50 State Legislatures (National Conference of State Legislatures)

The Continued Importance of the Violence Against Women Act

Like most aspects of law, domestic violence can stem from and intersect with a variety of legal topics. 

The United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations can be accessed via free government websites. Commercial resources such as WestlawNext, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law can also be used to locate statutes and regulatory resources. [See resource list located in right-hand column.]

Below is a non-exhaustive list of major federal laws related to domestic violence issues. Included are citations to regulations related to each.          

***for administrative materials other than regulations see the Secondary Legal Sources tab                    

• The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA)

  Title IV, §§ 40001-703 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322
• Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005
• Interstate Domestic Violence

  18 U.S.C. § 2261
• Interstate Stalking

  18 U.S.C. § 2261A
• Interstate Violation of Protection Order

  18 U.S.C. § 2262
• Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders

  18 U.S.C.§ 2265
• Definitions

  18 U.S.C. § 2266
• Firearms: Unlawful acts relating to domestic violence

  18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(8), (d)(9), (g)(8), (g)(9)
• Self-Petitioning for Battered Immigrant Women and Children

  8 U.S.C. § 1154
• HUD Programs: Violence Against Women Act Conforming Amendments; Final Rule

  24 CFR Parts 5, 91, 880, et al. (2010)

While the federal government has created many laws and regulations in this area, family law is traditionally within the police powers of the states. States also often have corollary state laws which mirror federal laws. Often these laws provide greater rights than the federal counterpart.

Many states adopt the same or very similar laws.  The Uniform Law Commission acts as a vehicle to help states establish such laws. Use the link located in the right-hand column to search for any uniform laws related tou your topic.

To locate state statutes or regulations you can utilize many of the resources in the link box on the right-hand side. You can also locate state statutes by going to the state website. An A-Z listing of state governmental websites is available from USA.gov.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of state-related resources which may help.

Here are some links to legal databases that can help you locate relevant constitutions, cases, statutes, or regulations (sometimes all four!)