After more reports this week about domestic violence, I couldn't stop thinking about what a complicated, scary, messy, unsolvable issue it is. So I went to the courthouse in Raleigh, hoping to find some insight from those who work in Wake County's civil and criminal domestic violence courts. We talked about the stuff the general public believes about domestic violence versus the stuff they see from the inside, and what it does to a person's heart to work in those two courtrooms. This courtroom is identical to all the others in the courthouse, and like any clerk, Narron sits to the left of the judge and processes the paperwork related to each case. Narron has worked here since July, when she was asked to fill in.
Judges rotate through on a weekly basis, and none of the other clerks wanted to take the position.
Here, people take the first legal step to remove themselves from an abusive situation. Narron says she has seen too many women use the threat of being labeled a batterer as a tool in divorce, property and custody proceedings. I came in here impartial and I still am impartial. I have to be. That's all you hear about, but it isn't true.