Domestic Violence in Divorce Proceedings

It is understood that many women are coached by their lawyers to file domestic violence complaints against their spouse as a tactic to get the upper hand in divorce proceedings.  These complaints are very effective and as a result, men need to know what to expect when facing the possibility that it might occur in their divorce.

Even though women are frequently the instigators, the odds are overwhelming that the man will be the one arrested and made to leave the home. Even if the man is defending himself, there is a good possibility that he will suffer that fate.

Veterans are especially vulnerable toDV accusations. If you are not familiar with the impact of a domestic violence conviction or a permanent protection order on a veteran's life, here is a summary of the lifetime penalties.:

* Barred from holding a job,
* Denied a security clearance,
* Unable to rent an apartment,
* Forbidden from obtaining school loans,
* Unable to hold any professional licenses,
* Unable to get or hold a teachers certificate,
* Cannot obtain credit or a financial bond,
* Unable to become police officers or firefighters,
* Cannot hold a commercial drivers license,
* Unable to obtain medical insurance,
* Cannot work with hazardous materials or explosives,
* Often have their children taken from them,
* Subjected to federal felony charges if they are even around a weapon or ammunition,
* Discharged from the service under less than honorable conditions and often lose all benefits, retirement, bonuses, and medical care.

In effect the veteran is a dead man walking after a conviction or court order in one of these cases.

Below is a good site with a lot of information for which you should be familiar so that you will be prepared for this possible occurrence:
http://www.dvmen.org/
http://www.dvmen.org/dv-134.htm#pgfId-1000404
http://www.dvmen.org/dv-127.htm#pgfId-998197

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Watch Out For The Dirty Dog Law

Frustrated by a Deadbeat Parent? Try Invoking the Dog Law
by Judge O.H. Eaton, Jr.

Family practitioners occasionally run into the deadbeat parent who simply refuses to obey the order directing payment of support. These cases are frustrating for several reasons.

True deadbeats have no money or assets. They live off of the income of others, usually day by day, or they rely upon the generosity of friends for assistance through the hard times.

Deadbeats believe they have nothing to lose. They have no job. They have no status. They have no property. They perceive themselves to be creatures deserving of sympathy due to their pathetic state which was caused by the custodial parent who now is to blame for the whole thing.

The usual civil remedies such as income deduction orders and writs of execution or sequestration do not produce needed monetary support. To add to the frustration, the custodial parent is usually destitute, or nearly so, and cannot afford counsel.

Sometimes the court files in these cases are voluminous because the deadbeat is pro se and is making a career out of dragging the custodial parent to court over trivial matters, thus jeopardizing employment and putting the custodial parent even more at the mercy of the deadbeat. How should the family law practitioner and the courts approach these cases?

One approach is to apply “dog law.” Now, I do not claim this concept to be original with me. I learned the concept during a lecture by Professor Calvin Woodard of the University of Virginia College of Law several years ago.

According to Professor Woodard, there are two kinds of law: “human law” and “dog law.”

[READ MORE...]

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