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Abstract: 

In April 2009, Maine State Representative Kim Rosen (R-Bucksport) contacted the Gender Violence Clinic at Harvard Law School to learn about the use of GPS monitoring in high risk DV cases. Rep. Rosen had heard Michael Bischof, the brother of a DV victim who was instrumental in getting GPS monitoring legislation enacted in Illinois, speak at a conference for state lawmakers, and she wanted to know more about the GPS monitoring for which Bischof had advocated. The Clinic welcomed the call, as Maine has one of the highest DV homicide rates in the country. This first-person account deals with how. in response to Rep. Rosen’s call, the Gender Violence Clinic prepared an Implementation Guide to assist Maine legislators in understanding the life-saving potential of both the use of GPS to contain certain offenders and the creation of high-risk case management teams. Rosen subsequently introduced a bill that would have allowed pre-trial GPS monitoring as a condition of bail in high-risk cases, and would have required a court to order GPS monitoring if an abuser violated a Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order.

Keywords: Maine can become one of the leaders in fight to end domestic violence; Lake murder-suicide case as precipitating factor

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