DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ITS EFFECT ON FAMILY COURT DECISIONS

With the National Football League and the Ray Rice controversy heating up again, the news is again full of stories about domestic violence and our society’s role in same. Domestic violence, however, is not a new problem, nor is it as isolated as some may think. Domestic violence is not a singular incident, it's an insidious problem deeply rooted in our culture.

According to a recent publication by The Huffington Post some of the statistics may shock you. These include:

• Three women are murdered every day in the U.S. by male partners or former male partners.
• Over 38 million women have experienced physical intimate partner violence in their lifetimes.
• Almost 5 million women in the U.S. experience physical violence by an intimate partner ever year.
• ne in four women, and one in seven men, will be victims of severe violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes.
• en million children are exposed to domestic violence every year.

Under Arizona law, if the family court finds a party to have been a perpetrator of Domestic Violence within the past 5 years there is a very strong presumption that the perpetrator should not share Physical or Legal Custody with the victim-parent. Thus, if the court finds that you have committed Domestic violence within the past 5 years, there is a rebuttable presumption to be proven by a preponderance of evidence that neither physical or legal custody should be granted to the perpetrator meaning that the victim of the violence will obtain sole physical and sole legal custody. This presumption is rebuttable, meaning, that you can attempt to convince the Court that even with domestic violence in your background, you could still co-parent the children and have an active physical timesharing plan without endangering the other parent or the children. In other words, it may be possible to rebut the presumption under certain limited circumstances.

If you are in a heated custody dispute or other disagreement, ALWAYS REFRAIN from domestic violence! If there may be allegations, it would be prudent to have witnesses, tape record the situation, or even consider calling 911 first. Better yet, do not let the situation escalate to that level; i.e., refuse to confront the person, leave the situation, take a walk, come back later when the tempers have calmed down, come back later with a witness in tow, call a mutual friend, neighbor or your religious leader to come over immediately.

Remember: Criminal lawyers see bad people on their best behavior; family lawyers often see good people at their worst.