Recent Posts in Domestic Violence Category

Divorce attorneys in Pasadena have seen too many couples end their marriages because of other legal issues like bankruptcy, fraud and domestic abuse. Country music singer Rodney Atkins says it was his estranged wife's accusations of domestic violence that drove the couple to divorce. Recently, a Tennessee judge dismissed those charges.

Just when divorce attorneys in Pasadena thought they might get their wish that nasty, high-profile celebrity divorces would be a thing of the past, the divorce of Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard comes along to prove us wrong. According to the Daily Beast, newly-released court documents in Howard's divorce case are filled with he said/she said allegations of "violence, death threats, extortion and racial slurs." And that's just the beginning.

Terrence Howard and Michelle Ghent were engaged in May 2009 but didn't walk down the aisle until January 27, 2010 and, according to the paperwork which was filed last year, problems for the pair started long before they said "I do." Michelle Ghent Howard claims that her estranged husband threatens to physically harm her via text, voice mail, email and Skype at all hours of the day. Terrence Howard says that it's Michelle who does the harassing and he claims that Michelle has threatened to ruin his career by releasing recordings of conversations he had with other people. Michelle was granted a restraining order on December 5th based on claims that "Terrence Howard has caused her physical injuries that required medical attention, once broke her computer in half, repeatedly threatened her and stalked her by telephone and on the Internet," reports the Daily Beast.

Howard now has filed a restraining order against Michelle and is due in court on January 17th. The documents say that Michelle did not know about Howard's 2002 domestic violence charges from the past wherein he pleaded guilty to attacking his first wife in Pennsylvania. He says Ghent Howard was also physically abusive, she had a history of hitting him in public when he was friendly to female fans and that she repeatedly called him the "N word" and other racially-charged insults. The court documents are stuffed with more scandals like alleged email hacking, bank account draining and more bizarre physical altercations.

Michelle's restraining order against Terrence Howard expires on January 17th, which is coincidentally the same day a judge will decide whether or not he will grant Terrence Howard's request for a restraining order against Michelle.

Look at your current relationship and note whether or not any or all of the following apply:

• Is possessive or jealous toward you.
• Bossy or demanding in attempts to control you.
• May have a quick temper and/or is violent.
• Attempts to isolate you by cutting you off from friends, family, and other social contacts.
• Abuses alcohol and/or drugs.
• You feel pressure sexually and/or demands sexual activities you're not comfortable with.
• Tells you you're responsible when he mistreats you.
• History of bad relationships.
• Friends and family are concerned for your health and safety.
• You worry about your partner's reactions to what you say and do.
• Partner makes "jokes" that embarrass, humiliate, or shame you privately or around family and friends.
• Partner has angry outbursts when they feel hurt, shame, fear, or loss of control.
• Partner witnessed abusive parental relationship and/or was abused as a child.
• In order to cope with the pain of the relationship, you and/or your partner have developed or progressed in alcohol or drug dependence.
• You repeatedly leave and return to relationship against the advice of your loved ones.
• You are not able to leave the relationship even though you know it is in your best interests to do so.

If you are thinking about leaving a destructive disturbing or otherwise unworkable relationship know you'll most likely always struggle with claiming a sense of self while with this person. It will zap you of your energy and for all your effort you'll still feel a sense of loss and emptiness. If your partner agrees to couples therapy and both of you are sincerely interested in making positive changes then go for it.

Just be prepared that it might not work and in the end you'll need to get out so you can begin living a normal life.

Remember to expect respect. It takes practice, and trust in yourself, to know when something someone says to you, or wants you to do, isn't right. Stand up for yourself and realize you have great value. Don't let other people push you around, embarrass, or in some other way make you feel inferior. People who are cruel to you are not worth having in your life.

Above all, don't be so dependent on another person, that the value you place on yourself is determined by the attention they pay to you. You are a separate person!

Family attorneys in Pasadena, along with courtroom watchers and celebrity gossip columnists, have been wondering for months what the final price tag would be on Mel Gibson's divorce to wife Robyn Denise Moore. Well, wonder no longer. ABC News is reporting that Moore will be taking half of Gibson's $850 million fortune.

Married for 31 years and separated for nearly three, the Gibsons have accumulated considerable assets during their marriage, including major real estate investments (like the island he bought in Fiji for $15 million in 2005). People magazine is reporting Mel and Robyn did not have a prenuptial agreement and hence she also is entitled to half of any film residuals Gibson receives for the rest of his life.

The divorce will take effect on January 9, 2012, and is believed to be the most expensive in Hollywood history. Finalized by a judge in Los Angeles, the judgement keeps nearly all of the details of the settlement secret. Only one of the couple's seven children is still a minor and "therefore subject to a custody agreement," according to ABC News. Custody arrangements are believed to be the next item on the agenda for both Gibson and Moore and will likely be settled in January.

The massive payout comes just months after Gibson agreed to pay ex-girlfriend and mother of his young daughter Oksana Grigorieva $750,000. The couple was embroiled in a brutal custody battle that included the now infamous recordings of Gibson ranting sexist and racist comments. Gibson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge involving Grigorieva in March. During the domestic abuse drama, Robyn Moore stood by her estranged husband's side and told the press Gibson was never physically abusive towards her or their children during their long marriage. Gibson and Moore reportedly waited to hash out the details of their divorce until his problems with Grigorieva had been addressed.

Pasadena family lawyers have seen far too many violent headlines caused by custody disagreements in 2011. Bitter custody battles have been at the root of dozens of shootings, kidnappings and assaults around the globe. Sadly, a divorce is at the root of another shooting - and this time the whole thing has been captured on an iPhone.

Last week, grandmother  Cheryl Hepner allegedly shot her estranged son-in-law, Salvatore Miglino, outside her South Florida home. Miglino senesed there would be trouble when he went to pick up his three-year-old son from his former mother-in-law's house, so he decided to record the handover with his smartphone.

"I knew something stupid was going to happen, but we're going through a divorce and trying to settle," he told the 911 operator when explaining why he decided to record the exchange.

Miglino set the video to record and placed his iPhone on the front seat of his car. After a heated verbal exchange, Hepner pulled a gun on Miglino and shot him twice in the shoulder and rib cage with a .22 calibre Beretta handgun. The sound of the gun shots can be heard on the video recorded by Miglino's phone, while the shooting itself is unseen in the footage. After the gunshots, Miglino can be heard screaming, "I can't believe you did that! What are you, crazy?"

According to police reports, he then jumped from his car and wrestled the gun out of Hepner's hand before driving away and calling the police. On the recording of his 911 call, Miglino is heard telling the operator, "I'm shot! I took the gun away from her." Hepner also called 911 and told the operator, "Somebody just shot at me." She described Miglino as a "son of a b****" who was "in the middle of a horrible divorce" with her daughter.

Of course, Hepner's story didn't hold water once the police received the footage of the shooting.

"As evidence goes, that was a gem. That absolutely corroborated everything that Mr. Miglino had told detectives," said Dani Moschella, a spokeswoman for the Broward County Sheriff's Office, in an interview with ABC News. An affidavit filed after the incident says that Hepner "did knowingly and intentionally plan to kill and murder Mr. Miglino from a premeditated design."

If you are a party to a family law case involving a request for a restraining order in the County of Orange, you need to be aware of the peculiar orders that are made against people accused of committing domestic violence.  Family law litigants who are accused of committing domestic violence within the County of Orange are ordered by the court to meet with a government investigator and answer questions regarding the accusations made by the opposing party.  The interview takes place prior to the hearing for the issuance of a permanent restraining order.

These peculiar orders are served on the accused party after the temporary restraining order is issued (sometimes the accused party is not given notice of the hearing).  The accused party is ordered to report to the investigator's office at a specified time and date, and is not invited to bring his or her attorney to the interview.  Prior to attending the appointment with the investigator, the accused party is ordered to complete a packet of documents, which includes a detailed questionnaire concerning the other party's allegations.  When the accused party arrives at the investigator's office, the investigator engages him or her in a question and answer session.  At the conclusion of the interview, the court investigator prepares a report, which is forwarded to the judge for review prior to the hearing.  If a party refuses to speak with the investigator by invoking the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, his or her chances of defending against the allegations are most likely doomed.  This is simply because many judges in Orange County use the party's refusal to speak to the investigator as an admission and place limits on how he or she can proceed with the evidentiary hearing (the Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination does not apply to Family Law Domestic Violence cases).

In my opinion, there are several problems with this procedure.  From an attorney's point of view, we always have to consider the possibility that any and all statements made by a client to the court's investigator will find its way to the local police and prosecutor.  When a party speaks to the court's investigator, he or she is not granted immunity, and therefore anything he or she says can and will be used against him or her in a criminal court of law.  Due to the fact that the process of obtaining a Permanent Restraining order in Family Court is an expedited procedure, an attorney representing a person accused of committing domestic violence in family court usually does not know the extent of the evidence, and has not had ample opportunity to adequately investigate the case prior to advising the client whether or not to speak to the investigator.  On one hand, the attorney is reluctant to place a client in a situation where the client might make incriminating statements and as a result could face criminal charges.  Anyone who has handled these types of cases is familiar with the fact that many of them are a classic "he said, she said" type of a case.  Frequently, the only thing that the criminal prosecutor has to corroborate an accusation is a statement made by the accused.  Consequently, the attorney who advises his client to speak to a court investigator is taking a great risk which can result in severe consequences.  Thus, in the abundance of caution, the attorney is usually going to advise his or her client to not answer any questions.   

On the other hand, the attorney is reluctant to give advice to the client that can be severely detrimental to the his or her chances of defeating a Domestic Violence Restraining Order and having a fair hearing on important Family Law issues such as child custody and spousal support.  Unfortunately, the Orange County court system ignores the fact that there can be harsh consequences associated with the issuance of a Domestic Violence Restraining Order in Family Court.  A person bound by a restraining order is normally going to have difficulty in obtaining certain types of jobs, will not be allowed to possess a firearm, and will be stigmatized by many people who will consider him or her a perpetrator of domestic violence, regardless of the fact that the accused may not have committed such a crime.       

Furthermore, the outcome of a request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order can be highly influenced by the investigation or the pre-existing biases of the investigator assigned to the case.  What happens when the investigator does not have the time, resources, or the ability to conduct a proper investigation?   What happens when the investigator has a bias or prejudice against the accused?  Well, obviously the accused is not going to get a fair hearing because we all know that an investigator can slant the facts against the accused pretty easily.  And what happens when the judge is the type who rubber stamps the investigator's report and follows the recommendations made by the investigator?  Obviously, in these cases the accused is being deprived of a fair hearing because the judge has been unfairly biased prior to any evidence being presented in a court of law.

In light of the recent changes in family law that favor evidentiary hearings (i.e., Family Code Section 217 which directs courts to allow evidentiary hearings), Orange County is missing the boat by continuing on with this procedure, which seems to have been created as sort of a triage system.  As a family law attorney, I can say without a doubt that many restraining orders are obtained by people who are making false accusations, and using the restraining order process as a means to obtain an advantage on important issues such as child custody, visitation, and spousal support.  A victim of domestic violence can also obtain a larger share of the community property by filing suit against the alleged perpetrator.  Consequently, there are a lot of strategic reasons as to why family law litigants are motivated to file requests for restraining orders without basis for any actual domestic violence.  Unfortunately, the Orange County system, which stacks the deck in favor of the accusing party, only adds to the problem. 

Pasadena divorce attorneys know that when it comes to recent, pricey custody celebrity battles, three names that come to mind: Charlie Sheen, Roseanne and Mel Gibson. Gibson, the 55-year-old actor and director famous for the films Braveheart and Lethal Weapon, recently reached a settlement with his ex-girlfriend, singer Oksana Grigorieva, that could put his fellow divorced celebrities to shame.

Last week, a judge ordered the star to pay Grigorieva $750,000 and continue to provide housing and financial support for their young daughter. The settlement, which was a long time in the making, hopefully marks an end to the bitter feuding between the pair. Gibson has agreed to provide financial and parental support identical to what he provides for his other seven children with soon-to-be-ex-wife Robyn Gibson. Gibson has also agreed to continue to pay for the house where Grigorieva and his daughter live until the child is 18, at which time she can sell the house and keep the profits. As part of the custody deal, Grigorieva cannot pursue a civil case and both sides were ordered not to write or speak about their relationship or the allegations of domestic abuse. Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman said that neither Gibson nor Grigorieva could release any audio recordings like the now-infamous voicemails which were posted on celebrity website RadarOnline.com last year. The recordings featured Gibson spouting off racial expletives and making violent threats. Grigorieva previously accused Gibson of hitting her in a January 2010 fight; Gibson pled no-contest to one count of domestic battery earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the ink is nearly dry on Gibson's other divorce to wife Robyn Gibson. The couple, who was married for 28 years, reportedly held off on finalizing their divorce until a custody arrangement with Grigorieva was reached.

Divorce attorneys in Pasadena fortunately don't see many cases sadder than that of Russell Armstrong. Armstrong was the husband of Taylor Armstrong, a star on Bravo's hit reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. According to early reports, Russell Armstrong committed suicide and was found by Los Angeles Police on Monday evening. Those close to the man say divorce and depression drove him to suicide.

Fans of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are more than familiar with the marital woes of star Taylor and Russell Armstrong. Cameras caught the couple's union literally falling apart as they clashed over everything from money to friends and beyond. So when news broke on July 15th that the pair had filed for divorce, celebrity couple watchers were far from shocked. But as the weeks unfolded, so did details of a marriage riddled with domestic abuse and affairs. Of the abuse, Taylor told reporters, "I'm mad at myself for tolerating things I should not have. I felt like I was dying inside."

She claims Russell, 47, would grab her, push her around and even throw things at her during their frequent arguments.

The dramatic court battle that was set to get underway this fall was cut short when authorities were called to the home of a friend of Russell Armstrong.

"I can confirm that Mr. Armstrong was found dead from an apparent hanging in a residence on Mulholland Drive," Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Richard French told People magazine.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Matt Spence adds, "We did respond at 8:08 p.m. Monday night regarding a reported death at the scene."

According to Los Angeles Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter, Armstrong was pronounced dead by paramedics at 8:16 p.m.

"There was no suicide note found," says Winter. "An autopsy and toxicology test are pending."

A source close to the couple told People that the stress of divorce had taken its toll on Russell.

"He was depressed," the source says. "He had a lot going on these past few months. The split from Taylor was a long time coming but it still took a big toll on him. He had no money; he was failing in business. It all added up."

Just two weeks shy of their fourth wedding anniversary, the actor filed for divorce from wife Joanne Smith. The news broke just one day after Baldwin filed a restraining order against Smith. The former fashion model turned chef has reportedly been battling drug and alcohol addictions of her own.

"Due to recent events in our home and for the safety of my children and myself, I have made this decision," Baldwin, 50, tells TMZ. "I have had my share of problems with drugs and alcohol many years ago and know first hand how difficult a position she is in."

Baldwin described his difficult family life in court papers and said his wife threatened to kill him and their two children.

"My wife has claimed over 10 times in the last two months that she will stab me, slash me or slit my throat in my sleep," Baldwin wrote.

Baldwin claims his terrified daughters even asked, "Is Mommy going to kill us?"

Authorities in Lake Oswego, Oregon, where the Baldwin family currently lives, have been called out to the family home on numerous occasions for domestic disturbances.

Baldwin had legal troubles of his own in the past, including several driving and substance-related arrests. In July 2006 he was arrested for stealing a car and was booked on a grand theft auto charge. Those charges were later dropped.

He and Smith were married in 2007. They have two daughters, born in 2008 and 2009.