reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 92 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 92. Statement of rights

 In giving notice to a victim of the victim's rights as provided in section 91a, subsection (c), paragraph (8) of this chapter, the officer shall read the following statement aloud and provide the victim with a card bearing the same information written in both English and Spanish: “My name is Officer ____; my badge number is ____. The law requires that I offer the following services to persons such as yourself who are victims of domestic violence: (a) If a crime has been committed against you, I must arrest the suspect immediately, or I must remove the suspect from the household or try to persuade him to leave the household; (b) I must drive you or help you find transportation to the nearest hospital or medical facility for treatment of injuries if you need or want treatment; (c) If you want to leave the residence, I must drive you or help you find transportation to the nearest shelter for victims of domestic violence, or to any other nearby place where your safety will be assured; and (d) I must make all reasonable efforts to make sure that you are safe.” In addition, the officer shall give the victim a written copy of the following statement in English and Spanish: “(a) The law provides that you may seek a court order prohibiting further abuse of yourself, your children, or anyone in your household, if you are affected by the abuse, or if the victim is unable to seek help. You do not need to hire a lawyer to get a court order. (b) The court order may order the person who abused you to move out of the residence where you live, to pay your rent there or elsewhere, or to pay support for you or your children. The court may give you custody of your children. It may order the abuser to stay away from your children. It may order the abuser to stay away from your workplace, or other places where you frequent. The order may restrain the abuser from calling you or writing you letters. It may order the abuser to pay your medical bills or to participate in counseling. You may request any or all of these things, or ask for other protection, as part of a court order. (c) To get a court order, go to Superior Court, which is located at ____. Ask the Clerk of the Court for complaint forms. If you are in immediate danger you usually can get an order the day you file the petition. (d) If the person who assaulted you violates this order, that person may be arrested and punished or may be required to remedy the violation. (e) You also have the right to request that the prosecutor file a criminal complaint against the person who assaulted you. If convicted of a crime, the abuser may be placed on probation and ordered to see a counselor, or the abuser may be put in jail or fined. (f) On nights, weekends, and holidays, when the courts are closed, you may obtain emergency assistance by calling the police or by calling ____ to find a judge.”
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 93 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 93. Domestic Violence Report

 (a) It shall be the duty of a police officer, or other peace officer, who responds to a domestic violence call to complete a Domestic Violence Report, which shall be made part of and attached to the Report of Crime Against Person or Property, and to forward a copy of the entire report to the Department of Justice and the Clerk of the Court of the Family Division of the Superior Court within five (5) days of the alleged incident. (b) The Domestic Violence Report shall be on a form prescribed by the Police Commissioner which shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: (1) The relationship of the parties; (2) The sex of the parties; (3) The time and date the complaint was received; (4) The time the officer began investigation of the complaint; (5) Whether children were involved, or whether the alleged act of domestic violence had been committed in the presence of children; (6) The type and extent of abuse; (7) The number and type of weapons involved; (8) The amount of time involved in handling the case and the action taken by the police officer; (9) The effective date and terms of an Order issued pursuant to this chapter concerning the parties; and (10) Any other data that may be necessary for a complete analysis of all circumstances leading to the alleged incident of domestic violence. (c) It shall be the duty of the Police Commissioner to compile and report annually to the Governor and the Legislature on the data tabulated from the Domestic Violence Reports. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: (1) The total number of domestic violence calls received; (2) The number of calls made by victims of each sex; (3) The number of domestic violence calls investigated; (4) The average time-lapse in responding to these calls; (5) The types of police actions taken in disposition of these cases, including the number of arrests. (d) The Police Commissioner shall establish procedures to insure that dispatchers and officers at the scene of an alleged incident of domestic violence are informed of any verified Order issued pursuant to this chapter and in force concerning the parties, or of any prior recorded incident of domestic violence involving the parties. (e) The Police Commissioner shall establish, within the Virgin Islands Police Department, a Domestic Violence Unit which will be responsible for insuring that all incidences of domestic violence are properly prosecuted and that the provisions of this chapter are strictly adhered to. (f) The Clerk of the Court of the Family Division of the Superior Court shall forward certified copies of all protective orders to all police zone commands within the island on which the victim resides within one business day of issuance of the order.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 94 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 94. Arrest powers

 (a) A police officer, or other peace officer, shall make an arrest without a warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe that a misdemeanor or felony involving domestic violence, as defined by section 91 of this chapter, has been committed by the suspect in violation of a court order or any criminal statute of this Territory. (b) Any clear and specific written statement by a person alleging that he witnessed the suspect commit an act of domestic violence against another constitutes probable cause for an officer to believe that the offense was committed and probable cause to believe that the suspect committed the offense. (c) In the absence of a statement, as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the officer shall consider the following factors in determining whether probable cause exists: (1) whether a victim or a witness alleges that an incident of domestic violence occurred; (2) whether there are visible injuries, torn clothing, disruption of physical surroundings, or other physical evidence of domestic violence; and (3) whether the dispatcher indicated a report of imminent violence or violence in progress. (d) Arrests pursuant to this section shall be made whether or not the offense was committed in the presence of the officer. (e) The existence of any of the following circumstances shall not be considered in any determination of probable cause to believe that a crime was committed by a person alleged to have committed it: (1) The victim knows the accused; (2) The victim has not made efforts to obtain a divorce, or a protective order, or to flee the residence; (3) The officer believes that the victim will not pursue criminal prosecution, or that the prosecutor will refuse to file charges based on the alleged incident; (4) The officer believes that reconciliation is preferable to arrest; (5) There are no witnesses to the incident; (6) The suspect is not in an agitated or argumentative state; (7) The victim has called the police on previous occasions; or (8) The parties have reconciled despite previous domestic violence or issuance of a restraining order.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 95 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 95. Limitations on liability

 Law enforcement agencies and peace officers shall not be liable for personal injury or property damage which occurs in the course of any good-faith effort to protect a victim of domestic violence, including, but not limited to, action taken during the course of an arrest, an attempt to separate two parties or to enforce a court order, or action taken during the transportation of the victim to a shelter, hospital, or other safe place.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 96 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 96. Complaints

 (a) A victim may file a complaint alleging the commission of an act of domestic violence with the Family Division of the Superior Court. The complaint may be filed in any judicial division where: (1) the plaintiff resides; (2) the defendant resides; (3) the alleged abuse occurred; or (4) the plaintiff is temporarily located if she has left her residence to avoid further abuse. (b) The court in domestic violence actions shall not dismiss any complaint or delay disposition of a case because of the concurrent dissolution of a marriage, other civil proceedings, or because the victim has left the residence to avoid further incidents of domestic violence. Filing a complaint pursuant to this section shall not prevent the filing of a criminal complaint for the same act. (c) The court shall waive any requirement that the petitioner's place of residence appear on the complaint. (d) The Clerk of the Court, or other person designated by the court, shall assist the parties in completing any forms necessary for the filing of a summons, complaint, answer or other pleading. (e) Summons and complaint forms shall be readily available at the Clerk's Office of the Family Division of the Superior Court. (f) All pleadings, process, and other orders filed pursuant to this chapter shall be served upon the defendant in accordance with the rules of the court. If personal service cannot be effected upon the defendant, the court may order other appropriate substitute service.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 98 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 98. Emergency relief

 (a) In addition to the relief sought in section 97 of this chapter, a plaintiff may seek emergency ex parte relief in the nature of a Temporary Restraining Order. Whenever emergency relief is sought by the plaintiff, the Clerk of the Court, or other person designated by the Court, shall immediately transmit the complaint to the Family Division Judge of the Superior Court by the close of business on the day relief is sought. When the Family Division is closed, the Superior Court may arrange for any available judge to grant ex parte relief, upon a showing that dire emergency conditions exist. (b) Generally, the Court may enter ex parte orders, upon good cause shown, when necessary to protect the life, health or wellbeing of a victim on whose behalf the relief is sought. Emergency relief may constitute all relief available under this chapter, together with any other appropriate relief. (c) An Order granting emergency relief shall immediately be forwarded to the Virgin Islands marshal and probation officer of the Superior Court for immediate service upon the defendant. Notice of the Order for emergency relief shall also be sent to the appropriate Chief of Police. (d) A Temporary Restraining Order shall remain in effect until further action by the Court, but not for more than ten days after it has been issued; Provided, however, That on 24 hours notice to the plaintiff, the defendant may appear and move for its dissolution or modification and, in that event, the Court shall proceed to hear and determine such motion as expeditiously as the ends of justice require.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 99b (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 99b. Training of police officers

 (a) The Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Police Department shall establish and maintain an education and training program for police officers designed to acquaint them with: (1) the nature, extent, and causes of domestic violence; (2) the legal rights of and remedies available to victims of domestic violence; (3) the services and facilities available to victims and batterers; (4) the legal duties imposed upon police officers to make arrests and to offer protection and assistance; and (5) techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and promote the safety of the victim. (b) Training shall stress the enforcement of criminal law in domestic violence cases and the use of community resources. Law enforcement agencies and community organizations shall cooperate in all aspects of the training. Representatives of shelters or other community groups shall be invited to assist in planning and presentation of training. (c) Basic training completed by police cadets prior to permanent appointment shall include no less than twenty hours of training in responding to domestic violence cases. (d) Advanced annual twelve-hour in-service training programs for all police officers shall include sessions on responding to domestic violence cases. The primary purpose of these sessions will be to familiarize officers with this chapter, as amended.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 99d (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 2 - Remedies for Domestic Violence|§ 99d. Domestic Violence Revolving Fund

 (a) There is established as a separate and distinct fund within the Treasury of the Virgin Islands “the Domestic Violence Revolving Fund”. The Commissioner of Finance shall provide for the administration of the Fund, and no monies are available for expenditure except as provided in this section. (b) The Fund consists of all fines imposed by the Court in all cases involving an act of domestic violence and all fees for marriage licenses collected under section 39(a) of this title. (c) The Department of Human Services shall use the monies in the Fund for domestic violence and public awareness programs publicly or privately organized pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Department for the Fund's use. The Department shall use 30 percent of the monies in the Fund for public awareness programs in schools under this chapter. The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council shall use 10 percent of monies in the Fund for public awareness programs within the schools.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 101 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 101. Action for separation or dissolution of marriage

 A husband and wife may maintain an action against the other for a legal separation or the dissolution of the marriage contract, or to have the same declared void, as provided in this chapter.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 102 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 102. Annulment of marriage

 (a) A marriage may be declared void from the beginning at the action of either party, for any of the causes specified in section 1 of this title and whether so declared or not shall be deemed and held to be void in any action or proceeding whatever in which the same may come in question. However, a marriage once declared to be valid by the judgment of a court having jurisdiction thereof, in an action for that purpose, can not afterwards be questioned for the same cause, directly or otherwise. (b) A marriage shall not be declared void for any of the causes specified in section 2 of this title, except at the action or claim of the party laboring under the disability, or upon whom the force or fraud was imposed or practiced; nor at the action or claim of such party if it appears that the parties freely cohabited together as husband and wife after the party had arrived at legal age, acquired sufficient understanding, been restored to reason, freed from the force, or discovered the fraud, as the case may be.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 103 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 103. Proceeding to declare marriage valid

 When either husband or wife claims or pretends that the marriage is void or voidable, as provided in sections 1 and 2 of this title, the same may be declared valid and lawful at the action of the other, and in such action the court may, if the pleadings and proof authorize it, declare such marriage void from the beginning or from the time of the judgment, or that it is valid and lawful, and binding on the parties thereto.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 104 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 104. Legal separation or dissolution; evidence

 A decree granting a legal separation or dissolving a marriage may be entered when the court is satisfied from the evidence presented that there has been a breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the legitimate objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 105 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 105. Residence requirements for annulment

 When a marriage has been solemnized in the Virgin Islands an action may be maintained to declare it void if the plaintiff is an inhabitant of the Virgin Islands at the commencement of the action. If the marriage has not been solemnized in the Virgin Islands, such action can only be maintained when the plaintiff has been an inhabitant thereof for six weeks prior to the commencement of the action.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 106 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 106. Divorce; jurisdiction of court

 (a) In an action for the dissolution of the marriage contract or for a legal separation the plaintiff therein must be an inhabitant of the Virgin Islands who is domiciled therein at the commencement of the action and who has resided therein continuously and uninterruptedly for at least six weeks prior thereto, which residence shall be sufficient to give the court jurisdiction without regard to the place where the marriage was solemnized or the cause of action arose. Evidence of the six weeks residence as aforesaid shall be presumptive proof of domicile. (b) For the purposes of this section, any person who is serving with the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force or the Merchant Marines, and who was a resident of the Virgin Islands at the time of his entry into military service or the Merchant Marines, shall be deemed to have continuously resided in this territory during the time he is serving with the Armed Forces or Merchant Marines.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 108 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 108. Interlocutory orders

 After the commencement of an action, and before a judgment therein, the court may, in its discretion, provide by order— (1) that a party in need obtain from the other party such funds as may be necessary to enable the party in need to prosecute or defend the action, as the case may be; (2) for the care, custody, and maintenance of the minor children of the marriage during the pendency of the action; or (3) for the freedom of the wife from the control of the husband during the pendency of the action and the court may restrain either or both parties from disposing of the property of either party pending the action.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 110 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 110. Modification of final orders

 At any time after a judgment is given the court, upon the motion of either party on notice, may set aside, alter or modify so much of the judgment as may provide alimony or for the appointment of trustees, for the care and custody of the minor children, or the nurture and education thereof, or the maintenance of either party in the action.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 111 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 3 - Divorce and Annulment|§ 111. Effect of decree

 A judgment declaring a marriage void or dissolved by the action or claim of either party shall have the effect to terminate such marriage as to both parties, except that neither party shall be capable of contracting marriage with a third person, until the action has been heard and determined on appeal, and if no appeal be taken, until the expiration of the period allowed by law to take such appeal; and if he or she does so contract, such party shall be liable thereof as if such judgment had not been given; Provided, however, That the parties to an uncontested action to void or dissolve a marriage shall be capable of contracting marriage with a third person immediately after said judgment is declared.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 141 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 5 - Adoption|§ 141. Petition for adoption

 Any inhabitant of the Virgin Islands may petition the proper court to adopt a child who is not his own and who is in the Virgin Islands. If desired, the petition may also ask for a change of the child's name. In no case however, may the petition of a person who has a spouse be granted unless the spouse joins therein. Except where husband and wife adopt jointly, no person shall be adopted by more than one person.
V.I. Code tit. 16, § 142 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 16 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 5 - Adoption|§ 142. Consent of parents; appointment of guardian ad litem

 (a) The parents of the child, or the survivor of them, shall, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, consent in writing to such adoption. If neither parent is living, the guardian of the child, or, if there is no guardian, the next of kin in the Virgin Islands may give such consent, or, if there is no next of kin, the judge of the court may appoint a suitable person to act in the proceedings as guardian ad litem of the child, and to give or withhold such consent. (b) If either parent is insane or imprisoned in a penitentiary under sentence for a term not less than two years, or has willfully deserted and neglected to provide proper care and maintenance for the child for one year next preceding the time of filing the petition, or is an unfit person to have the care and custody of the child, the court may proceed as if such parent was dead, and, in its discretion, may appoint some suitable person to act in the proceeding as guardian ad litem of the child and give or withhold the consent required by subsection (a) of this section. In all cases, however, notice to the parent not laboring under such disabilities of insanity or imprisonment mentioned in this subsection, shall be required.