By Roxanne Hernandez, Staff Attorney, Family Law Unit
In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month…
#1
My client Gustavo (fictitious name) had enough of the physical abuse perpetrated by his partner Loretta (fictitious name) and contacted Community Legal Aid SoCal, through a social services agency, to seek assistance with obtaining a domestic violence restraining order against her.
It was not an easy pursuit for Gustavo to leave Loretta as she made every effort to turn the tables on him and allege she was the true victim. One of these attempts was evident when, after Gustavo tried to end their relationship and briefly left the home to diffuse an argument, she rolled over his car wrecking into another vehicle while he was gone, walked home, and attempted to frame him for the collision. She acknowledged her abusive conduct including physically striking Gustavo, but at all times alleged she acted in self-defense. In response to her claims of abuse, I successfully called her credibility into question by pointing out inconsistencies in Loretta’s version of events, which is something Gustavo would likely not have done on his own, without an attorney.
My representation of Gustavo resulted in the judge granting him a three-year restraining order. Gustavo expressed his gratitude and relief with the outcome—a legal barrier between him and Loretta. We will be further assisting him with an application to the Victim Compensation Board for the damages sustained as a result of the abuse meted by Loretta.
#2
Barbara (fictitious name) is a single mother in her late 30s who speaks fluent Spanish, speaks English with limited proficiency, and does not read or write either language. She came to us for assistance through a referral from a partner agency.
Before the referral to us, her first request for a domestic violence restraining order was accidentally dismissed because she was unable to read the court paperwork with the hearing information. A new request for a restraining order was denied as the allegations were considered stale since they occurred five months prior, before her initial request for a restraining order.
I learned that Barbara had been in a dating relationship with her abuser, Giancarlo (fictitious name), for 16 years and they had two children together. During the relationship, she was the victim of Giancarlo’s abuse with the latest incident occurring in the home and in front of the children. This occurrence was the impetus for her to seek a restraining order against him.
Seven months after her initial request, with my assistance, Barbara was finally granted a three-year domestic violence restraining order that protects her and the two children. Giancarlo was granted no visitation and ordered to attend anger management classes.
After we secured the restraining order, I referred Barbara to our Case Management Unit. The case manager connected her to therapy services and language classes for both Spanish and English. Barbara was eager to improve her Spanish language reading and writing skills and learning English as a second language. The children, ages 9 and 14, were greatly affected by the abuse and are currently receiving therapeutic services from a partner agency.
#3
Marco (fictitious name) came to us with a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) in place to protect him and his son from Cecilia (fictitious name). He needed our assistance with a change of custody as Cecilia had managed to get temporary emergency child custody orders over the child.
Through our research and unbeknownst to him, we learned Cecilia had managed to conceal the existence of the DVRO against her from the court and was granted Temporary Emergency Child Custody Orders alleging Marco had physically abused the four-year-old boy. The Investigator assigned to do an emergency custody investigation failed to look at Marco’s evidence, which included photos of the same injuries to the son, which predated Cecilia’s photos, and which he alleged occurred while the boy was in Cecilia’s care. In essence, Marco needed our assistance with modifying the visitation orders based on the same injuries alleged by Cecilia.
I represented Marco less than 24 hours after learning of the emergency hearing in which the investigator testified. Upon my inquiry of the investigator’s failure to look at Marco’s evidence, the court determined there was no emergency, suspended the emergency orders placing the child with Cecilia, and reinstated the 2021 DVRO granting Marco sole physical custody of the boy and visitation to Cecilia. The child was ordered returned to Marco by 8 am the following morning. It was a victory for our Marco, but we had more to do. Two weeks later, we assisted him with his request to reduce visitation and/or instituting supervised visitation, in which visitation for Cecilia was reduced further. The Court ordered a further investigation to determine whether supervision over Cecilia’s visits is warranted.
#4
Vilma, a married woman in her late 30s, sought our assistance with a domestic violence restraining order for herself and her minor daughter following allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated on the child by her husband, the child’s father.
What could have been a very difficult and distressing situation was averted as I managed to secure an agreement in which the father stipulated to a five-year protection order for Vilma and their daughter, with no visitation. Additionally, in under a month, we were able to resolve their divorce as well.
Vilma was extremely pleased with the outcome and is moving forward with her life knowing that she and her daughter have the protection of the restraining order in place. It is gratifying to know we achieved the best outcome for all involved without subjecting any of them to testimony on this very delicate issue.
