Thank you for your view on these matters. I believe the information regarding the fact that the Memorial Day weekend was to be 'supervised' was incorrect. FD had a documented history of non compliance with the courts instructions and has at least 2 citations for contempt. Further the mistress was to have no contact with JD children and this requirement of the court was ignored both by FD and his mistress. I have a copy of the Judge Heller ruling in the office and so will go back again and read the section and post the involved sections tomorrow.
I am not sure the courtroom environment and culture that you describe no matter how awful should excuse judges from recognizing and dealing appropriately with domestic violence toward partners. JMO.
I just wanted to repost on this thread a press release that was previously posted by @peace9274 regarding domestic violence (BBM):
The (Connecticut) CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) is deeply saddened and concerned to learn of the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos in New Canaan last week and we remain hopeful that she will be found safe.
While news reports have offered the idea that this circumstance is a result of a custody dispute, there is more than sufficient detail in court documents to authentically describe this situation for what it is; domestic violence, the coalition said in their statement, in a press release.
Ms. Dulos offered to the court on more than one occasion that she was fearful of her husband who could be vengeful and dangerous. We know that domestic violence is a pattern of behavior that is centered on power and control.
Abusers use various strategies to threaten, harass, control and intimidate their partner, including the practice of continuing this conduct through the family court process. When a victim is leaving a relationship and taking steps to move away from the abuse and coercion, this can be the most dangerous time.
Anyone who is experiencing or knows someone who is experiencing domestic violence is encouraged to call the statewide domestic violence hotline. Safe, confidential and free domestic violence services available across the state include counseling, court-based advocacy, emergency shelter, group support and services for children.
Certified domestic violence counselors can be reached 24 hours per day, 7 days per week via the statewide domestic violence hotlines – 888.774.2900 (English) and 844.831.9200 (Español).
Yes, please do if you can. I would like to see the orders.
Yes, we all can see that he is a domestic abuser. But in the family law system, half the people lie about such things. The judge found there was not enough evidence to issue a TRO against FD at the time it was requested. I have represented many people falsely accused of DV by a lying ex and it can ruin their lives. Judges understand this and have to rule according to actual evidence, keeping in mind that people lie constantly in these cases. It's hard to know who is telling the truth.
In this case, the judge eventually did determine that he is a liar. However, by that time there was no new restraining order request to my knowledge. So nothing to rule on there.
The issue became solidly about custody. The judge did two things, apparent from the new articles and very familiar to me, in an attempt to untangle the mess and determine what was safe for the kids, in the face of his lies and the allegations:
1. She ordered input from therapists.
2. She appointed a guardian ad litem who represents the interests of the kids, not the parents, and asked for their input.
Those are the proactive actions of a judge who is taking the case seriously. That's based on my experience as a family law attorney for 17 years.
The judge next - according to news articles - issued highly restrictive orders per the recommendations of the therapists and the GAL. That is also the proactive action of a judge who is taking the case seriously.
If the judge changed the visits to unsupervised, that would not be unusual. That is often the case eventually, even where there is contentious behavior, and even when one parent is determined to be a liar. I have explained why on a previous thread and that's systemic across the US.
Supervised visitation is not meant to be permanent.
In this case, if the judge changed to unsupervised based on recommendations of the GAL and therapists, she did her job. She relied on fact gatherers and experts.
If she did not, and just changed it for no reason to something dramatically less restrictive, without relying on experts, that would be super troubling and if that happened and then the kids were killed or had been kidnapped, I would absolutely blame the judge.
As it stands, the judge is not to blame in any way for what happened here. There was no new DVRO request and no hearing had happened on a permanent request, to my knowledge, since the first TRO request which the court didn't find compelling enough at that time. The court has no power to revisit an old ruling and say, "Well I change my mind." unless someone asks it to.
But let's say the court had issued the TRO. Well listen, he already knew that his wife had filed legal documents asserting he was going to kill her. He killed her anyhow.
Restraining orders keep the peace. They don't stop murder.
