Lawmakers eye ways to help abused spouses avoid harm

      CARSON CITY -- Sen. Ernie Adler remembers arriving at his law office one morning to find the contents of every file cabinet on the floor.
      A man suspected of spousal abuse used a crowbar to break into his files in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of the victim.
      "I can give you the names of 10 lawyers in Carson City with similar experiences," said Adler, D-Carson City.
      Consequently, he and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed enthusiastic support Wednesday for a bill that would set up a state-run program to give fictitious addresses to victims of domestic violence. The committee decided not to take action until technical amendments on the bill are completed.
      Under the bill, victims likely would be given a fictional address through a post office box number at the secretary of state's office in Carson City. Only the secretary of state and the Division of Child and Families Service would have access to the victim's actual address, where mail sent to the post office box would be forwarded.
      Steps also would be taken to ensure those in the program -- similar to a witness protection program -- could vote in elections.
      After the hearing, Sue Meuschke, director of the Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence, said the idea is not foolproof but will make it harder for abusers to locate people whom they have victimized.
      Meuschke said victims will not testify before the committee because even a Legislature hearing room is not a safe place.
      "These people are running for their lives," she said.
      "These are people who are obsessed in finding you," she said. "They go to your friends. They go to your family. They go to the Internet."
      Adler acknowledged that even with the fictional address program, some domestic abusers might find victims by stalking them at the workplace or following them when they see them in stores.
      "This program probably will work better if they (victims) move from the community (to another part of the state)," he said.
      .The program to set up a fictional address program was proposed by Judiciary Chairman Mark James, R-Las Vegas, who patterned it after a similar procedure in Washington. About 1,500 people have been assigned fictional addresses at the capital in Olympia, Wash.
      "If we can save one victim, it pays for itself," said Chris Graham of the Child and Family Services Division. "It is another piece of protection."
      His division estimates the program would cost $80,000 to $150,000 a year.