Federal law protecting women begets a house divided — April 12, 1999 A recent ruling has created a split among the federal appeals courts regarding the constitutionality of the Violence Against Women Act.Before its passage, the federal law was criticized by bar associations and the federal judiciary because of the legislative trend to pull criminal offenses into the federal realm.In fact, in 1992, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist singled out the VAWA as a prime example, predicting it would embroil the federal …