Family Law

Lawmakers Pass 'Sara's Law' To 'Protect' Attorneys In Least Effective, Most Insulting Way Possible

Frankly, this law dishonors the career of a woman who fought to protect her clients from abuse.

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In response to the tragic killing of Sara Quirt Sann, a family law attorney gunned down in her office by her client’s estranged husband, the Wisconsin legislature has passed a law sending a harsh message to any future assailant who kills a family law attorney that they “could have any weapons they own confiscated.”

That ought to handle it.

Technically, the law, Assembly Bill 825, creates a felony punishable by up to 6 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and allows the state to confiscate guns from anyone who harms “or threatens to harm” a family law attorney, guardian ad litem, or corporation counsel. That sounds slightly more useful until you remember that attacks like the one that killed Sann typically come without any specific, actionable threat against the attorney.

When family law attorneys are victims of deadly violence, which they are far too frequently, they’re only at best indirectly or vaguely threatened, rendering the law useless as anything but a penalty enhancement after the fact. That doesn’t do much to prevent the violence. If there’s a common denominator in attacks against family law attorneys that could provide some predictable forewarning, it’s someone with a history of violence and threatening behavior toward the attorney’s client, with the family lawyer targeted by proxy. So if one cared about alleviating the hazards facing family law attorneys, one could confiscate weapons from any known, violent domestic abuser subject to a restraining order, but the NRA hates that so that’s a no-go in Wisconsin.

It’s not that this law, which lawmakers have dubbed “Sara’s Law,” isn’t worth passing. Just because a law can’t solve 100 percent of a problem doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a worthwhile start. But this law — passed through the Wisconsin Senate without debate — underscores the toxic cynicism guiding crime policy:

State Sen. Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon, released this statement after the bill passed.

“By extending this heightened protection to family law practitioners, hopefully we can strongly deter future threats and violence against attorneys like Sara.”

People going through divorces and enraged by the restraining orders placed on them for physically assaulting their families aren’t going to think twice now that they might face up to a $10,000 fine. Deterrence just isn’t likely to solve this ill. But it’s politically easier to slap a penalty enhancement on something and move on without bothering to discuss the underlying issues.

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Or, maybe, if you believe so much in deterrence, instead of merely authorizing special sanctions for threats against family lawyers, you could also extend those same protections generally to include the wives and girlfriends and domestic partners and children being threatened in the underlying family law disputes.

I’d imagine Sarah Quirt Sann would have preferred that result.

Sara’s Law passes Wisconsin Senate with no debate, heads to Governor’s desk [WBAY]
Sara’s Law headed to Walker’s desk [WSAU]

Earlier: Divorce Attorney’s Murder A Chilling Reminder Of The Dangers Of Family Law

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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