AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
-
Upload
dr-stephen-e-doyne -
Category
Documents
-
view
237 -
download
0
Transcript of AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 1/48
COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOURTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
DIVISION THREE
In re th e GuardianshipSydney & J u s t in S.
Case No. G021264
(Super. Ct.Case No. A 174254)
APPEAL FROM THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ORANGE COUNTY
NANCY WIEBEN STOCK, JUDGE PRESIDING
AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OFSTEPHEN E. DOYNE, Ph.D., J. REID MELOY, Ph.D. ,
DON DUTTON, Ph.D., PETER JAFFE, Ph.D., PROFESSORJANET BOWERMASTER, THE PUBLIC LAW CENTER, THE CALIFORNIAWOMEN'S LAW CENTER, AND THE CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE AGAINST
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
STEPHEN TEMKO, CFLS, CALS
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Sta te Bar No. 677851666 Garnet Avenue, No. 502
San Diego, Cal i fo rn ia 92109(619) 274-3538
PAUL MONES, LLB
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Sta te Bar No. 128329P.O. Bo x 5701Santa Monica, CA 90405(310) 396-3743
Attorneys fo r Amici
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 2/48
I .
I I .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE . . .
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS AN EPIDEMIC.
A. Bat te rers
B. Sta lkers . .
CHILDREN ARE AT GREAT RISK LIVING WITH APERPETRATOR OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
A. Emotional Abuse to Children .
B. Impact of Exposure to Violence.
C. Neurobiological Changes and the Cycleof Domestic Violence........ .
. 1
. 9
. 10
. 12
. 16
. 17
. 18
. • 2 0
I I I . FEAR OF LOSING CUSTODY OFTEN TRAPS BATTERED
SPOUSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
IV. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHOULD BE A PRIMARY
v.
VI.
CONSIDERATION IN CHILD CUSTODY DECISIONS .27
A. Protec t ing Children from Harm. . . . .27
B. Best In t e re s t s and Domestic Violence. . . 31
c. Spousal Murder and Detriment to Children . . 32
THE BEST INTERESTS OF CHILDREN ARE MORE
IMPORTANT THAN THOSE OF BIOLOGICAL PARENTS.
CONCLUSION...... .
. 36
40
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 3/48
TABLE OF AUTHORITIESCASES
Barka lof f v . Woodward (1996)47 Cal . App. 4 th 303
In re David C. (1984) 154 Cal . App. 3d. 1189 . .. . . . 7
29
Guardianship o f Phi l l i p B. (1983) 139 Cal . App. 3d 407 . . 2
Guardianship o f Stephen G. (1995) 40 Cal . App. 4 th 1418 . 28
In re Heather A. (1996) 52 Cal . App. 4 th 183.
In re Jon N. (1986) 179 Cal. App. 3d 156
People v . Humphrey (1996) 13 Cal. 4 th 1073.
. 29, 30, 38
CIVIL CODE
Family Code 3011.
Family Code 6203.
Family Code 6211.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
1 , 30
. 7
28, 38
• 9
. . 9
Cal i fo rn ia Assembly B i l l 200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
BOOKS AND LAW REVIEW
deBecker, The Gif t o f Fear : Surviva l Signals t ha tPro tec t Us from Violence (1997) L i t t l e , Brown andCompany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14, 33, 34
Dutton, The Domestic A·ssaul t ofWomen
(1995)UBC
Press/Vancouver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Gelles and St rauss , In t imate Violence (1988)Simon & Schus te r . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 21, 33
Peled, Ja f fe , Edleson Ending the Cycle of Violence , (1995)SAGE Publ i ca t ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 4/48
OTHER AUTHORITIES
ABA, Center on Children and the Law, The Impact ofDomestic Violence on Children: A Report to thePres ident of the American Bar Associa t ion .
Washington, D.C. . . . .
....Ackerman and Ackerman, Child Custody Evalua t ion Prac t ices :
39
A Survey of Psychologis ts 30 (3) Fam L.Q. 565 (1996) 30
APA, I ssues and Dilemmas in Family Violence (1996)American Psycholog ica l Associa t ion Pres ident ia lTask Force on Violence and the Family. . 25
Crawford and Gartner , Woman k i l l i ng , in t imate femicidein Ontar io : 1974-1990, (1992) Toronto: The Women We
Honor Action Committee . . . .17
Dalton, Domestic Violence in Cal i fo rn ia , A Sta tus Reportto the Cal i fo rn ia Department of Heal th Services ,
(1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dobosh, Dobash, Wilson, and Daly, The Myth of SexualSymmetry in Mari ta l Violence (1992) Socia l Problems,39 (1) . . . . . . . . . .11
Dutton, Prof i l i ng Wife Assau l te r s : Some Evidence fo r aTrimodal Analysis (1988), Violence and Vict ims, 3( 1 ) 1 pp 5 - 3 0 • • • • •11
Dutton, Starzomski , & Ryan, "Antecedents of Border l inePersona l i ty Disorder Organizat ion in Wife Assaul ters"
(1996) Fam. Violence 11 (2) . .11
Dutton, Starzomski & Van Ginkel , "The ro le of shame andg u i l t in i n t e rgenera t iona l t ransmiss ion ofabusiveness" (1995) Violence and Victims 10 (2) . . .11
Hil ton , Battered women's concerns about t h e i r ch i ld ren
witness ing wife a s s a u l t (1992) J . of In te rper sona l
Violence , 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Hotal ing and Sugarman, An Analysis of Husband and Wife
Violence: The Curren t State of Knowledge (1986)Violence and Vict ims, 11 . . . . . .21
Jacobson, Gottman, Waltz, Rushe, Babcock, and HoltzworthMunroe, "Affec t , Verbal Content, and Psychophysiologyin the Arguments of Couples With a Violent Husband"(1994) 62 No . 5, Journa l of Consul t ing andCl in ica l Psychology, . . . . . . . . .
Ja f fe , Lemon, Sandler and Wolfe, Working Together to End
.14
Domestic Violence, (1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 5/48
Ja f fe , Peled, and Edelson, Ending th e Cycle o f Violence :Community Responses to chi ldren of ba t te red women,
(19 91) SAGE . . . . . . . . 5
Ja f fe , Children of Domestic Violence: Spec ia l Challengesin Custody and Vi s i t a t i on Dispute Resolut ion in
Lemon, Domestic Violence and Children: ResolvingCustody and Vi s i t a t i on Disputes , A Nat iona l
J ud ic i a l Curriculum (1995) The Family ViolencePrevent ion Fund, Chap 2, . . . . . .10
Ja f f e , Wolfe, & Wilson, Children of Bat tered Women,(1990) . . . . . . . 5
Ja f fe , Wolfe, Wilson & Zak, Emotional and phys ica l hea l thoroblems of ba t t e r e d women (1986) CanadianJourna l of Psychia t ry , 31 . . . . . . . . . 17
Johnston and Campbell , Paren t -ch i ld re la t ionship in
domestic v io lence f ami l ies d i spu t ing custody (1993)Fam. Conci l . Courts Rev. 31 . . . . . 24
Meloy, "Sta lk ing (obsess iona l fol lowing) : A Review of
Some Pre l iminary s tudies" (1996) Aggression andViolen t Behavior , Vol 1, No. 2 . . . . . . . . 2,13,14
Meloy and Gother t , A Demographic and Cl in ica l Comparisonof Obsessional Followers and Mental ly DisorderedOffenders (1995) American Journa l of Psych ia t ry ,
Vol 152:2 . . . . . . 14
Model Code on Family Violence (1994) 37
Novello, The Domestic Violence I ssue:
(1992) Am. Med. News Mar. 23/30,Hear Our Voices
Peled, The exper ience of l i v ing with violence fo r
preadolescent chi ld witnesses of women abuse(1993) Unpublished doc to ra l d i s se r t a t i on , Univ.
.10
of Minn. Minneapolis . . . . . . . . . . 17
Perry , "Incubated in Ter ro r : Neurodevelopmental Factors
inth e
'Cycleof
Vio lence ' " ,in
Osofsky, Childrenin a Violent Socie ty (1997) Gui l ford , Chap. 2. . 20,30
Rodgers , Wife Assaul t : The f indings of a Nat ional Survey(1994) J u r i s t a t , 14. . . . . . 16
Walker , Psychology and Violence Against Women (1989) Am.
Psychol . 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Westra and Mart in , Children of Bat te red Women (1981) Vol10 Maternal Child Nursing J . . . . . . . . . . . 10
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 6/48
Zorza, Woman ba t t e r i ng : a major cause of homelessness(1991) Clear inghouse Review, 25 . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Zorza, "Fr iendly parent" provis ion s in cus todydeterminat ions (1992) Clearinghouse Review 26
....4
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 7/48
INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE
The au thors , who come from the d i sc i p l i nes o f chi ld ,
adolescent , adul t and fo rens ic psychology, and family law, contend
t ha t the r i sk fac tors presented to ch i ld ren in divorced fami l ies by
a bat t e r ing parent are not as eas i ly observable as a bruise or a
s p l i t l ip t h a t needs s t i t c h e s . Rather , a parent who abuses another
parent i s abusing the ch i ld ren by exposing them to a c l imate o f
fea r and a poor model o f conf l i c t r e s o lu t ion in in t imate
re la t ionships .
Domestic v io lence which harms spouses and ch i ld ren inc ludes ,
but i s n ot l imi ted to , psychological verbal abuse, sexua l abuse ,
s ta lk ing , physica l abuse, o r , a t i t s worst , murder. In determining
bes t i n t e r e s t s , Family Courts h i s to r i c a l l y cons ider a broad
spectrum of pa re n t s ' behavior as it a l l a f f ec t s ch i ld ren . In t h i s
regard , the en t i r e h i s t o ry o f domest ic v io l e n t behavior of a paren t
who i s a b a t t e r e r - from verba l i n t imida t ion to homicide - should
be considered by th e cour t to proper ly assess what d i r ec t ly or
ind i rec t ly 1 causes harm to ch i ld ren . In the extreme case of spousa l
murder, th e detr iment 2 to the ch i ld ren by th e loss of a paren t
1 In re Jon N. (1986) 179 Cal. App. 3d 156, 161, 224 Cal .
Rpt r . 319 the court found t he re had been "secondary abuse" in theform of angry domest ic violence between the parents which must haveinevi tab ly a f fec ted the chi ld even though he had not been in jured .
2 • "Whether pa re n ta l custody would be de t r imen ta l i,s n otjudged ob je c t ive ly (nor i s it equated wi th the so r t o f ' p a ren t a lunf i tness ' t ha t would requ i re in te rvent ion by the s t a t e through a
juveni le court depending proceeding) . Rather , ins tead o f
presc r ib ing r ig id s t a tu to ry guidel ines , the l eg i s l a t ive i n t en t i sto leave cour t with broad f l ex i b i l i t y to make the ul t imate decis ion
based on th e spec i f i c fac t s in l i g h t of the t o t a l i t y of theevidence. (Guardianship of Phi l l ip B. (1983) 139 Cal. App. 3d 407,
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 8/48
should be considered if a l l ega t ions a re made t ha t t h i s loss i s
re la ted to the ac t ions of the surviving parent . Moreover, when
chi ldren have l o s t a parent , they wil l c l ing to the surviving
parent even if t ha t person has been a ba t te re r . However, the
grea te s t future det r iment these chi ldren face i s t ha t they wil l
l ive to experience the surviving parent bea t another par tner ,
recycl ing the cl imate of fear tha t i s so det r imental to ch i ldren .
Therefore, because the psychological r i sks to chi ldren l iv ing
with a ba t te re r are high, amici bel ieve there should be a
rebut t ab le presumption3 aga ins t sole or jo in t custody fo r
perpe t ra tors of domestic violence, even i f tha t parent has never
d i rec t ly abused the chi ldren .
Amici 's respect ive careers have been pa r t i a l l y defined by the
quest ions of why domestic violence occurs and how it a f f ec t s
chi ldren .
Stephen E. Doyne. Ph.D. i s a c l in ica l and forens ic
psychologis t in pr iva te prac t ice in San Diego. Dr. Doyne received
421.) II
3 In 1994, the Nat iona l Council of Juveni le and Family CourtJudges adopted a Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence
(Hereafter re fer red to as "Model Code") which s ta ted : "In everyproceeding where there i s , a t l ea s t , a t i ssue a dispute as tocustody of a chi ld , a determina t ion by the cour t tha t domestic orfamily violence has occurred, ra i ses a rebut tab le presumption t ha ti s det r imental to the chi ld and not in the bes t in te re s t 9f thechi ld to be placed in the sole custody, j o in t l ega l custody, o rjo in t physical custody with a perpe t ra tor of family violence.Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence, (1994) National Counci lof Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Chapter 4: Family andChildren, Sec. 401, Presumption Concerning Custody, p.33)"
2
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 9/48
h is Ph.D. in C l in i c a l Psychology a t Peabody College of Vanderbi l t
Univers i ty . He i s a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic
Examiners, and i s a Diplomate of the American Board of
Psychological Spec i a l i s t s in th e area of chi ld cus tody evaluat ions .
For a major i ty of h is ca ree r , he has been conduct ing chi ld custody
eva lua t ions fo r the Super io r Courts in Southern Ca l i fo rn i a . Dr.
Doyne i s Pas t -Pres iden t of th e Ca l i fo rn ia Associa t ion of Psychology
Providers and Fellow of the San Diego Psychologica l Associa t ion .
In 1991, he received an American Psychological Assoc ia t ion Prac t i ce
Di rec to ra te Leadership Award fo r Outs tanding Contr ibut ion to
American Psychology fo r h is work associa ted with t he Ca l i fo rn ia
Associa t ion of Psychology Providers .
J . Reid Meloy, Ph.D. i s a Diplomate in forensic psychology of
th e American Board of Profess iona l Psychology. Dr. Meloy i s Chief
of the Court Serv ices , Forens ic Mental Heal th Divis ion fo r San
Diego County, and a l so devotes h is t ime to a pr i va t e c i v i l and
cr iminal forens ic prac t i ce , r esearch , wri t ing , and t each ing . He i s
an assoc ia t e c l i n i c a l professor of psych ia t ry a t th e Univer s i ty of
Cal i fo rn ia , San Diego, School o f Medicine and an ad junc t professo r
a t the Univers i ty of San Diego School of Law. He i s a l so a Fellow
o f the Socie ty fo r Persona l i ty Assessment, and i s cur ren t ly
Pres iden t of the American Academy of Forens ic Psychology. In 1992,
he received the Dis t inguished Contr ibut ion to Psychology. as a
Profess ion Award from the Cal i fo rn ia Psychological Associa t ion . He
3
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 10/48
has authored o r co-authored over one hundred papers publ ished in
peer-reviewed psychia t r i c and psychologica l journa l s , and has
wri t ten or edi ted four books. Dr. Meloy i s working on h is f i f t h
book, The Psychology of Sta lk ing , to be publ ished in 1998. He i s
a sought -a f te r speaker and psychological consul tan t on var ious
c i v i l and cr iminal cases throughout the United Sta tes .
Don Dutton, Ph.D. received h is doctora te in Socia l Psychology
from th e Univers i ty o f Toronto . While on facul ty a t the Univers i ty .
of Br i t i sh Columbia, he began to inves t iga te the cr imina l j u s t i ce
response to spousal assau l t , prepar ing a government repor t t ha t
out l ined the need fo r a more aggress ive response , and subsequently
t r a ined pol ice in "domest ic dis turbance" in te rvent ion techniques .
From 1979 to th e present , Dr. Dutton has served as a
psychotherapis t in the Assaul t ing Husbands Pro jec t , a cour t
mandated t rea tment program fo r men convicted of wife assau l t . In
the course of provid ing t rea tment fo r these men, he drew on h is
background in both soc i a l and c l i n i c a l psychology to develop a
psychological model fo r in t imate abus iveness . He has publ ished
over e ighty papers and th ree books, inc luding the Domestic Assaul t
of Women and The Ba t t e r e r : A Psychologica l Prof i l e . Dr. Dutton i s
c ur r e n t ly professo r o f psychology a t the Univer s i ty of Br i t i sh
Columbia.
Pe t e r G. Ja f fe , Ph.D. i s Direc to r of the London Family Court
Cl in ic and a t ru s t ee fo r th e London Board of Educat ion (London,
4
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 11/48
Ontar io , Canada) . He i s an adjunc t associa te pro fes so r in the
Departments of Psychology and Psychia t ry a t the Univers i ty of
Western Ontario. Dr. Ja f fe has publ i shed widely on the top ic of
domestic violence and i s co-author , with David A. Wolfe and Susan
K. Wilson, of Children of Bat tered Women (1990), Ending the Cycle
of Violence: Community responses to chi ldren of ba t t e r ed women,
(1991, Sage) (with Eina t Peled and Jef f rey L. Edleson), and Working
Together to End Domestic Violence, (1996, Mancorp, with Nancy
Lemon, Jack Sandler , and David Wolfe). He received h is
undergraduate t ra in ing from McGill Univers i ty and h is Ph.D. in
c l i n i c a l psychology from the Univers i ty of Western Ontar io . Dr.
Jaf fe recent ly served as a member o f the Canadian Panel on Violence
Against Women, a federa l ly appointed committee t h a t examined
so lu t ions to violence agains t women across Canada.
Janet M. Bowermaster, J .D. i s a professor of law a t Cal i forn ia
Western School o f Law in San Diego. She received her law degree
from the Univers i ty o f I l l i no i s College of Law. For th e l a s t
severa l years she has t aught courses in family law and chi ldren and
the law. More recent ly , she has t aught an advanced seminar on
domest ic vio lence . Professor Bowermaster i s the author o f severa l
law review a r t i c l e s on chi ld custody. Her most recent a r t i c l e ,
"Relocat ion Custody Disputes Involving Domestic Violence" wil l
appear in the Univers i ty of Kansas Law Review in March of .1998.
Professor Bowermaster i s a member of the American Bar Associa t ion
Family Law Committee, the Socie ty o f American Law Teachers, the
5
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 12/48
Nat ional Associa t ion o f Counsel for . Children, the Associa t ion of
Family and Conc i l i a t ion Courts , the Law and Socie ty Associa t ion and
the San Diego Domestic Violence Council Legal Action Committee.
She regular ly as s i s t s l oca l domestic violence agencies by
conduct ing t r a i n i ngs fo r ho t - l i ne vo lun tee r s on custody i s sues in
domest ic vio lence .
Publ ic Law Center i s the only pr iva t e bar , publ ic i n t e r e s t law
firm in Orange County, Cal i forn ia . Created from a 1989 merger of
Amicus Publ ico and th e Orange County Public In t e re s t Law Advocates ,
The Publ ic Law Center br ings eighteen years of experience to th e
t ask of adminis ter ing pr i va t e a t to rney involvement programs.
Public Law Center provides f ree lega l se rv ices to low income Orange
County re s idents through i t s s t a f f and volunteer , pr iva te
a t to rneys . The Publ ic Law Center a l so chal lenges systemic
i n jus t i ce s through l i t i ga t i on and o ther forms of advocacy.
Cal i forn ia Women's Law Center i s a pr iva te , non-prof i t , publ ic
i n t e r e s t law cen te r in Santa Ana, Cal i fo rn ia spec ia l i z ing in the
c i v i l r i gh t s of women and g i r l s . Cal i fo rn ia Women's Law Center was
es tab l i shed in 1989 to address the comprehensive c i v i l r i gh t s of
women and g i r l s in th e fol lowing pr io r i ty areas : Family Law,
Violence Against Women, Reproduct ive r i gh t s , Sex Discr iminat ion and
Child Care.
Since i t s incept ion , Cal i forn ia Women's Law Center has
mainta ined a mul t i -d i sc ip l inary approach to domestic violence and
6
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 13/48
family law i s sues by focusi t ig on the i n t e r - r e l a t ionsh ip of these
areas in the l i ves of women and chi ldren and the po l i c i e s a f fec t i ng
them.
Cal i forn ia All iance Against Domestic Violence, headquar tered
in Sacramento, i s a s ta tewide coa l i t i on responding to the needs and
i n t e r e s t s o f ba t t e red women and t he i r chi ldren . As t he so le
s ta tewide voice fo r vic t ims of domest ic v io lence , the Al l iance has
worked s ince 1976 with pol icy makers, advocacy organ iza t ions , c i v i l
and cr imina l j u s t i ce profess iona ls , ch i ld pro tec t ive se rv ice
workers, law enforcement of f i ce r s , and others to develop spec i f i c
proposals to a id the v ic t ims o f domestic vio lence . These
co l l abora t ions mark the f i r s t a t tempt in Ca l i forn ia a t a
comprehensive approach to th i s devas ta t ing problem. The All iance
was incorpora ted in 1993 as a non-pro f i t corporat ion .
Cal i forn ia All iance Agains t Domestic Violence has par t i c i pa t ed
in amicus b r i e f s in severa l impor tan t Cal i fo rn ia cases , inc luding
Barkalof f v . Woodward, (1996) 47 Cal . App. 4th 303, and People v.
Humphrey (1996) 13 Cal . 4 th 1073.
7
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 14/48
With regard to the case a t bench, In re Guardianship o f Sydney
and Jus t inS . ,
CaseNo
Al74254 amicuscur iae
express noc l i n i ca l
opinion. Rather , amici reques t s t ha t th i s cour t examine the
persuas ive data on the i s sue o f family violence and i t s e f fec t s on
chi ldren, pa r t i cu la r ly as they re la te to divorce and custody
decis ions .
8
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 15/48
I . DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS AN EPIDEMIC
Domestic vio lence4
i s a pa t t e rn of behavior t ha t inc ludes , but
i s not l imi ted to , the fol lowing forms of abuse:
PSYCHOLOGICAL: shout ing, swearing, t aunt ing , t h r ea t
ening, degrading, demeaning, inducingfear , gender harassment , s ta lk ing
SEXUAL:
PHYSICAL:
FINANCIAL:
rape, i nces t , unwanted sexual touching,date rape , harassment
s lapping, shoving, h i t t ing , mut i la t ion ,s tabbing, assau l t , murder
withholding, dive r t ing , embezzling or
cont ro l l ing funds (Dutton, The DomesticAssaul t of Women: Psychologica l andCriminal Jus t i ce Perspect ives (1995) UBC
Press , pp. 3-10)
According to a 1996 repor t by the Cal i forn ia Department of
Health Services , domestic violence - both reported and unreported
- occurs an es t imated four mil l ion t imes a year , with tw o mil l ion
of these inc idents being severe as sau l t s . (Dalton, Domestic
Violence in Ca l i forn ia , A Status Report to the Cal i forn ia
Department of Health Services , (1996) p. 3.) The repor t a lso
es t imates t ha t as many as one- thi rd of emergency room v i s i t s re la te
4According to Family Code Sect ion 6203, nabuse meansin ten t iona l ly or reck less ly to cause o r at tempt to cause bodily
in jury , o r sexual assau l t , or to place a person in reasonableapprehension o f imminent ser ious bodi ly in jury to t ha t person or to
anothern.According to Family Code sec t ion 6211: nDomestic violence i s
abuse perpe t ra ted aga ins t any of the fol lowing persons : a) aspouse or former spouse, b) a cohabi tant or former cohabi tan t , asdefined in sec t ion 6209, c) a person with whom the r e s p o n d ~ n t i shaving or has had a da t ing or engagement re la t ionship , d) a personwith whom the respondent has had a chi ld , 3) a chi ld of a par ty of
a chi ld who i s subjec t to an act ion under the Uniform ParentageAct, f) any o the r person r e l a t ed by consanguini ty or a f f i n i t ywithin the second degree.n
9
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 16/48
to domestic violence and apparent ly , one- f i f th to one-four th of
pregnant women seeking prena ta l care are in a bat t e r ing
re la t ionship . Fur ther , medical care to v ic t ims o f domestic
violence cos t s an es t imated $1.8 b i l l i o n do l l a r s p er year . (Dalton,
supra, (1996) a t p . 3 .) Current ly , domestic violence i s the
leading cause of in jury to women ages 14 to 44, more common than
automobile accidents , muggings, and rapes combined (Novello, The
Domestic Violence Issue: Hear Our Voices (1992) Am. Med. News Mar.
23/30, p . 25.)
Children do not have to be vic t ims of abuse to su f fe r
emotional detr iment from l iv ing with a ba t t e r e r . In fac t , chi ldren
ra ised in a home in which spousal abuse occurs experience the same
fea r as ba t te red ch i ld ren (Westra & Martin, Children of Bat tered
Women (1981) Vol 10. Maternal Child Nursing J . , pp. 41, 49, and
SO.) This i s why exper ts in the f ie ld , such as Pete r Ja f fe , Ph.D.,
poin t out t ha t domestic vio lence should be more proper ly termed
violence aga ins t women and chi ldren s ince the majo r i ty o f vict ims
are women and ch i ld ren . (Jaffe , Children of Domestic Violence:
Spec ia l Challenges in Custody and Vis i t a t ion Dispute Resolut ion in
Lemon, Domestic Violence and Children: Resolving Custody and
Vis i ta t ion Disputes , A National Judic ia l Curriculum (1995) The
Family Violence Prevent ion Fund, Chap 2, pp. 19-21.)
A. BATTERERS
The persona l i ty cha rac t e r i s t i c s of ba t t e r e r s espec ia l ly
t h e i r vio len t tendencies - are important in evaluat ing whether it
w i l l be de t r imen ta l for ch i ldren to be placed in t ha t parent ' s
10
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 17/48
custody.
Donald Dutton, Ph.D., descr ibes s e ve ra l types of ba t t e r e r s ,
al though there i s no s ing le pro f i l e . (Dutton, supra , a t p . 121.)
Sta t i s t i ca l ly , ba t te re r s tend to be male, r a t he r than female.
(Dobash, Dobash, Wilson & Daly, The Myth o f Sexual Symmetry in
Mari ta l Violence (1992) Socia l Problems, 39 (1) , pp. 71-76.)
Dutton concludes tha t the wife-assaul t e rs have pronounced needs fo r
i n t e rpe rsona l cont ro l but do not possess hea l thy mechanisms to
generate t h i s c on t ro l . From h is numerous research s tudies , Dr.
Dutton concludes t ha t the b a t t e r e r r eac t s with exaggerated arousal
in anger to scenes of male/female c o n f l i c t . (Dutton, supra , a t p .
94 . )
Dr. Dutton 's data found tha t wife as sau l t e r s subdivide in to
th ree subtypes : those who a c t out anger impuls ively in the context
of int imate r e l a t i onsh i ps , those who use vio lence ins t rumen ta l ly
and genera l ly , and those who repress o r over cont ro l a deep
resentment . (Dutton, Prof i l i ng Wife Assaul te r s : Some Evidence fo r
a Trimodal Analysis (1988), Violence and Vict ims, 3 (1), pp. 5-30.)
A typ ica l background inc ludes deep shaming exper iences usual ly by
the f a t he r of the even tua l perpe t ra tor , insecure at tachment and
exposure to vio len t ro le models. (Dutton, Starzomski , & Ryan.
"Antecedents of Border l ine Personal i ty Disorder Organizat ion in
Wife Assaul ters" (1996) Fam. Violence. 11 (2), pp. 131-132.)
However, a l l wife as sau l t e r s do not have s imi l a r et iologies : · they
d i f f e r both in what t r i gge r s the violence and how they r a t i ona l i ze
t he i r behavior . (Dutton, Starzomski, and van Ginkel . "The ro le of
11
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 18/48
shame and g u i l t in i n t e rge ne ra t i ona l t ransmiss ion o f abusiveness"
(1995) Violence and Vict ims 10(2) , pp. 121-131.) Fur the r , many
offenders are s e r i a l b a t t e r e r s , i.e., j u s t because one re la t ionship
i s over does not mean t h a t the pe rpe t r a to r wi l l no t expose the
chi ldren to violence in the nex t re la t ionship as two- th i rds of
ba t t e re r s re -o f fend . (Dutton, supra , a t p. 25.)
B. STALKERS
Within the subse t o f b a t t e r e r s , J . Reid Meloy, Ph.D., has
i den t i f i ed a subgroup who s t a lk women, some of whom presen t the
gre a t e s t r i sk of domest ic v io lence o r spousal murder. In h is
research , he concludes t h a t th e va s t major i ty - in excess of 80% of
s t a lk ing vic t ims are p r i o r acquain tances o r former sexual
in t imates of the s t a lke r . (Meloy, "Sta lk ing (obsess iona l fol lowing) :
A Review of Some Prel iminary S tudies" (1996) Aggression and Violent
Behavior , Vol 1 , No.2, pp. 147-162. ) Although Meloy notes there i s
no publ i shed s tudy on the r e l a t i ons h ip between domest ic violence
and s ta lk ing p e r se , he be l i eves t ha t it i s l i k e ly domestic
violence increases the r i sk of s ta lk ing . One source of data
suppor t ing t h i s theory i s the fac t tha t r e s t r a i n i ng order
v io l a t i ons inc rease as v io lence p r i o r to separa t ion in a marr iage
i nc reases .
Meloy, whose spec i a l t y i s "obsess iona l fol lowing" o r s ta lk ing ,
found in a review of a l l publ ished s tud ies t ha t the r i sk o f
vio lence among i nd iv idua l s who s t a lk ranges from 3 to 36% ,· with
approximately one in four i nd iv idua l s (25-30%) being phys ica l ly
assaul t ive towards t h e i r ob jec t of pur s u i t . (Meloy, supra , a t pp.
12
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 19/48
147-162.) About ha l f of those who s ta lk th rea ten persons or
proper ty and 25% of those i nd iv idua l s who make such t h r ea t s are , in
fac t , v io l e n t toward persons or proper ty . Although the homicide
ra te fo r those who s t a lk i s l ess than 2 !1,-0 I t h i s i s more than 200
t imes the current homicide ra te in the general popula t ion of the
United St a t e s . (Meloy, supra , a t pp. 158-159.)
Meloy also no tes t h a t o ther research ind ica tes t ha t over
th ree - four ths of spousal homicides occurr ing a f t e r separa t ion a re
preceded by behaviors cons i s ten t with the accepted def i n i t i on of
s t a lk ing : a long- term pa t t e rn of t h rea t and harassment t ha t causes
the v ic t im to fea r for her sa fe ty . (Meloy, supra , a t pp. 147-162. )
This i s a pa r t i cu la r ly usefu l f inding because it may be a
predic t ive va r iab le in separated spousal homicide s ince most
spousa l ba t t e r e r s do not murder t h e i r mates. (Meloy, supra , a t pp .
147-162. )
Dr. Meloy's motivat ional theory of s ta lk ing i s psychodynamic.
The s t a l k e r i n i t i a l l y develops a na rc i s s i s t i c l i nk ing fantasy to
th e objec t , perhaps h is wife , in which he i s spec ia l , idea l ized by,
or dest ined to be with h er forever . Her r e j ec t i on of him in a
divorce or separa t ion s t imula tes deep humil ia t ion which i s defended
aga ins t with abandonment rage . This i n t ense anger fuels the
pur s u i t of h is ex-wife to decimate and devalue her , paradoxica l ly
to res tore h is ide a l i z e d f an tasy o f her . In othe r words, h er
physica l death i s seen by the s t a l ke r as the death o f the r e j ec t i ng
spouse, which makes room fo r the re s tora t ion in the s t a l ke r ' s mind
of the per fec t (na rc i s s i s t i c ) fantasy of an uncondi t ional ly
13
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 20/48
accept ing spouse. (Meloy, supra , a t pp. 147-162. ) Meloy 's theory
i s supported by the empir ica l f indings of pa tho log ica l narc iss i sm
among those who s ta lk . (Meloy and Gother t , A Demographic and
Clin ica l Comparison of Obsessional Followers and Mental ly
Disordered Offenders (1995) American Journal of Psychia t ry , Vol
152:2, pp. 258-263.)
In cont ras t to the common s tereotype , ba t t e r e r s are not always
out of cont ro l when abusing. In fac t , some b a t t e r e r s ' hear t r a t e s
ac tua l ly drop and they become phys io logica l ly calmer as they become
more v i o l en t . (Jacobson, Gottman, Waltz, Rushe, Babcock, and
Holtzworth-Munroe, "Affect , Verbal Content, and Psychophysiology in
the Arguments of Couples With a Violent Husband" (1994) 62 No.5,
Journa l of Consul t ing and Cl in i c a l Psychology, pp. 982-988.) This
f inding i s c ons i s t e n t with deBecker ' s explanat ion of domestic
assaul t and murder:
"Though l eaving i s the be s t response to v io lence ,it
i s
in t ry ing to leave t ha t most women get k i l l e d . This
dispe l s the dangerous myth about spousal k i l l ings : they
happen in the heat of argument. In fac t , the m ajor i ty of
husbands who k i l l t h e i r wives s t a lk them f i r s t , and fa r
from the ' c r ime of pass ion ' tha t it i s so of ten ca l led ,
k i l l i n g a wife i s usua l ly a decis ion , no t a loss o f
cont ro l . Those men who are most v io l e n t are not a t a l l
car r i ed away by fury ." (deBecker, The Gif t of ·Fear :
surv iva l Signals t ha t Protec t Us From Violence (1997)
L i t t l e , Brown, p. 183.)
14
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 21/48
Thus, a b a t t e r e r - who may be capable of spousa l murder - can
presen t as a person not l i k e ly to lose emotional c on t ro l , o r be
harmful to ch i ld ren .
5
But l iv ing with a b a t t e r e r i s an enormous
r isk to ch i ld ren , as wi l l be seen in the next s e c t ion .
5In the case a t bench, Judge Nancy Weiben Stock descr ibed the
f a the r as "a man who has n ot in the pas t , o r i s not l i k e ly in the
fu ture to lose cont ro l of himsel f in such a manner as toemot iona l ly or phys ica l ly harm h is tw o young chi ldren" (In re Sydneyand Jus t i n S ., Order and Findings , (1996), p . 6 .)
15
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 22/48
I I . CHILDREN ARE AT GREAT RISK LIVING WITH A PERPETRATOR OF
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The bes t ava i lab le research has found t ha t domest ic v io lence
has dramatic and long- las t ing det r imenta l e f fec t s on chi ldren .
Stud ies on th e incidence of v io lence in homes suggest a wide
range of es t imates depending on the research methodology and
def i n i t i on of v io lence . Two of th e more recent comprehensive
surveys es t imate t ha t a t l e a s t 30% of a l l women wil l su f f e r from
some form of v io lence in an adu l t r e l a t i ons h ip during t h e i r l i f e
span. ( Ja f fe , supra, a t pp. 19-21.) For 10% of the women, t h i s
violence i s so severe t ha t they worry fo r t h e i r personal sa fe t y .
(Rodgers, Wife Assaul t : The Findings o f a National Survey (1994)
J u r i s t a t , 14. pp. 1-22 . ) Thei r fea rs are well-founded when one
considers t h a t the majori ty of female homicide vic t ims are k i l l ed
by t h e i r pa r tne r , ex-par tne r , o r boyfr iend . (Jaffe , supra, a t p .
19)
Although the terms " fami ly vio lence" and "domestic violence"
are commonly u t i l i zed , the most accura te term i s "mal t reatment of
women and ch i ld ren" , s ince they rep resen t the vast major i ty of th e
vic t ims. ( Ja f fe , supra, a t p. 20.) Pol ice forces across North
America have reported t ha t 90% of the vic t ims of family v io lence
are women and ch i ld ren . ( Ja f fe , supra , a t p. 20.)Men
are also
abused, but in most i n s t ances , it i s men' s violence aga ins t women
which c rea tes grea t e r pain and suf fe r ing . A l a rge propor t ion of
women's violence toward men i s in se l f -de fense . (Gel les & St rauss ,
Int imate Violence (1988) Simon & Schuster , pp. 18-20.)
16
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 23/48
A. EMOTIONAL ABUSE TO CHILDREN
Although th e term "violence" i s usual ly associa ted with
phys ical o r sexua l v io lence , most v ic t ims repor t t ha t emotional o r
psychologica l abuse can have the most pers i s t en t long- term e f f ec t s .
( Jaf fe , supra , a t p. 21-22.) This abuse i s charac ter ized by
th rea t s , demeaning o r be l i t t l i ng comments, and an a t tempt to c rea te
a family cl imate of fear , t e r ro r , and insecur i ty .
Although many parents with in v i o l en t fami l ies th ink t ha t they
have protec ted t he i r chi ldren from the v io lence , between 80% and
90% of chi ldren indica te the opposi te . (Jaffe , Wolfe, Wilson & Zak.
Emotional and phys ica l hea l th problems of ba t te red women (1986)
Canadian Journa l of Psychia t ry 31, pp . 625-629.) Most ch i ld ren not
only are aware of what happened, bu t they can give de t a i l ed
desc r ip t ions about the esca la t ion of the violence . Chi ldren may be
a t t he i r bedroom door , a t th e top of the s t a i r s , o r they may en t e r
the room shor t l y a f t e ra
v io l e n t episode , bu t they know too wel l
the r ea l i t y of the v io lence and the emotional and phys ica l
consequences to t h e i r mother. (Peled, The experience of l iv ing with
violence fo r preadolescent chi ld witnesses of women abuse (1993)
Unpublished doc to ra l d i s se r t a t i on , Univ. of Minn. Minneapol is . ) At
the extreme, when women are murdered by t h e i r husbands, ch i ld ren
are present in approximately 25% o f th e cases . (Crawford & Gar tner ,
Woman k i l l i ng , int imate femicide in Ontario: 1974-1990 (1992)
Toronto: The Women We Honor Action Committee.)
The term "witness", o r exposure to violence i s not j u s t th e
observat ion of discre te events , bu t ra the r , a ch i ld ' s t o t a l
17
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 24/48
experience of fea r and i n secu r i t y o f what happens, what they
a n t i c ipa t e happening and the af termath of phys ica l , s exua l , and
emotional abuse in th e family . ( Ja f fe , supra , a t p . 21-22.) Murder
of one spouse by ano the r - witnessed o r not - i s the ul t imate
exposure chi ldren can have to family v io lence .
B. IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE
The impact of th e exposure to violence has both short - term and
long-term consequences t ha t depend on th e c h i ld r e n ' s age, gender ,
s tage o f development, and ro le with the family. ( Ja f fe , supra , a t
p . 21 . )
Preschool ch i ld ren who are exposed to th i s violence may su f fe r
from nightmares o r o the r s leep d i s tu rbances . The t rauma in t h e i r
l i ve s causes g re a t confus ion and i n s e c ur i t y t h a t may l ead to
reg ress ive behavior , such as excess ive c l ing ing to adu l t s and /o r
fea r o f being l e f t a lone . ( Ja f fe , supra , a t p. 21.) Some ch i ld ren
are po la r i zed by cons tan t fea r and anx ie ty because th e p laces and
people who should a f fo rd them th e gre a t e s t pro tec t ion (horne and
parents ) t u rn out to be the most dangerous. ( Jaf fe , Wolfe & Wilson,
supra , a t pp. 625-629.)
Chi ldren exposed to t h e i r f a t h e r ' s abuse of t h e i r mother may
e xh ib i t a range of i n t e rna l i z i ng and ex te rna l i z ing emotional and
behav io ra l problems. These symptoms cont inue in to adolescence .
Aside from th e more dramat ic o r v i s i b l e symptoms o f .being
exposed to vio lence , ch i ld ren may a l so exh ib i t more subt le s igns o f
t h i s t rauma t ha t are not apparen t from t r ad i t i ona l assessment and
in terv iew da ta . For example ch i ld ren who are exposed to p a re n t a l
18
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 25/48
violence tend to hold be l ie f s t ha t violence i s an appropria te
method in t ry ing to reso lve conf l i c t s , espec ia l ly in the contex t of
an in t imate r e l a t i onsh i p . ( Ja f fe , supra , a t p. 22.) Many ch i ld ren
see phys ica l aggression as appropria te in gain ing respect or
con t ro l in a re la t ionship , and excusable if a perpe t ra t o r i s
drinking , or if a vic t im has supposedly done something to "provoke"
him ( i . e . , they th ink the fa the r ' s view of the vio lence was
j u s t i f i ed because the house was messy o r dinner not ready on time) .
Addi t ional ly , chi ldren tend to blame themselves over t ime fo r
the vio lence . (Jaffe , supra , a t p. 22.) They of ten fee l t ha t it i s
t he i r duty to pro tec t t he i r mother or defuse t h e i r f a th e r ' s anger.
They may f ee l t ha t i f they were per fec t in t he i r own horne t he i r
paren t s wouldn ' t f i gh t over them and cause more vio lence . This
pronounced sense of persona l respons ib i l i ty begins a t an ear ly age
and can l a s t in to adul thood. Obviously these symptoms, as well as
the prev ious ly mentioned ones, impede chi ldren ' s development, t h e i r
academic and community involvement , and t h e i r sense of persona l
competence.
Many chi ldren may fee l so responsib le fo r t h e i r mother ' s
safe ty t ha t they adjus t t he i r own l i ves in order to pro t ec t t he i r
mother. (Jaf fe , supra , a t p. 22.) Some chi ldren refuse to go to
school and l a t e r receive the diagnos is of "school phobic" fo r t h i s
reason . Other chi ldren may go to school and presen t somat ic
concerns such as headaches and stomach pains so tha t they can
re turn home to t h e i r mothers . In some circumstances , mothers do
not discourage th i s behavior because of t he i r own i so la t ion ,
19
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 26/48
depress ion and i n a b i l i t y to se t any l imi t s fo r t h e i r chi ldren .
Adolescents who have been exposed to violence , develop t he i r
own coping s t r a t e g i e s to deal wi th t rauma. At an adapt ive l eve l ,
with extended family o r community suppor ts , these young persons may
t ry to separa te and ind iv iduate from the family problems and seek
more independent l iv ing and school-vocat ional pursu i t s .
Unfor tunate ly , ~ a n y adolescents do no t have adequate s k i l l s and
s oc i a l suppor ts in p lace . These adolescents may at tempt to cope
through drug and a lcoho l abuse, o r by running away to po ten t i a l ly
more dangerous environments (e .g . , th e s t r ee t s ) .
p . 22.) Often, they become involved in
(Ja f fe , supra, a t
abusive dat ing
re la t ionships . Adolescent boys who have been exposed to v io lence
are more l i k e ly to be abusive , and g i r l s who have been exposed to
violence are l e s s l ike ly to ques t ion dat ing violence . Many of
these adolescents do not even cons ider t ha t th i s v io l e n t behavior
i s cr imina l in nature and could l ead to sanct ions by th e cour t
system. (Jaf fe , supra , a t p. 22.)
C. NEUROBIOLOGICAL CHANGES AND THE CYCLE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Chi ldren neurobio logica l ly adapt to violence exhib i t ing
measurable changes in the ac t iv i ty of t h e i r brainstems as a r e s u l t
of chronic t r aumat ic s t r e s s i n v io l e n t homes. However, the very
neurobio logical adapters which allow the chi ld to surv ive violence
may, as the chi ld grows older , r e s u l t in an increased t e n d e ~ c y to
be vio len t . (Perry, "Incubated in Ter ro r : Neurodeveloptnental
Factors in th e 'Cycle of Violence ' " , in Osofsky, Children in a
Violen t Socie ty (1997) Guilford, Chap 2 . , pp. 124-149.)
20
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 27/48
Thus, l iv ing with a perpe t ra t o r o f domestic vio lence makes it more
l ike ly t ha t those chi ldren wil l grow up to be vio len t themselves .
In fac t , in 14 ou t o f 16 s tudies , witness ing vio lence between one ' s
parents or ca re take rs i s a more cons i s ten t pred i c t o r of fu ture
violence than being th e vic t ims o f abuse. (Hotal ing and Sugarman,
An Analysis of Husband and Wife Violence: The Current Sta te o f
Knowledge (1986) Violence and Vict ims, 11, pp. 101-124.)
The long- term impact of being exposed to domest ic violence i s
most apparent from re t rospec t ive s tudies o f male perpe t ra tor s o f
violence and female surv ivors o f violence in adu l t re la t ionships .
The majori ty of abusive husbands have grown up in fami l ies where
they were exposed to t he i r fa the r ' s abuse of t h e i r mothers. The
landmark s tudies in th i s f i e ld sugges t t ha t sons of severe
ba t t e re r s have wife abuse r a t e s a t 10 t imes the l e ve l of sons of
non-vio lent f a t he r s . (Jaf fe , supra , a t pp. 21-22. ) Women are l e s s
l ike ly to seek ass i s tance when they are abused i f they have been
exposed to v io lence in t h e i r family of or i g i n . (Gel les & St rauss .
supra, a t p . 18-20i Walker. Psychology and Violence Against Women
(1989) Am. Psychol . 44 (4), pp. 695-702.)
Several important i s sues and caut ions need to be ra i sed about
the research on chi ldren who have been exposed to violence .
Although being exposed to violence i s an important fac tor , it
ra re ly happens in i so l a t ion from o ther s t r e s so r s in a ch i ld ' s l i f e
(e .g . , repeated separa t ions and dis rupt ions , f inanc ia l hardships ,
lack of adequate housing or she l t e r ) . In many circumstances a
chi ld may persona l ly experience severa l forms of violence
21
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 28/48
themselves as ide from being exposed to t he i r mother ' s
vic t imiza t ion . The most conservat ive es t imates suggest a t l e a s t a
minimum 30% over lap between wife assau l t and phys ica l chi ld abuse,
and some s tud i e s and recen t reviews have es t imated an over lap up to
70%. (Jaffe , supra , a t pp. 22-23.)
As out l ined in the nex t sec t ion , violence does not end with
separa t ion . Although th e physica l vio lence may te rminate , the
ongoing i s sues of abuse of power and cont ro l may g e t played out
througha
custody dispute and compromise the ch i ld ren ' s emot ional
and behav io ra l adjustment .
22
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 29/48
I I I . FEAR OF LOSING CUSTODY OFTEN TRAPS BATTERED SPOUSES
Children are a cen t ra l focus in decis ions ba t t e red spouses
make about l eaving the b a t t e r e r o r s tay ing t rapped in an abusive
r e l a t i onsh i p .
Bat tered women of ten c i t e the ch i ld ren as a reason to remain
with t h e i r spouse, in addi t ion to othe r fac tors , such as fear ,
economic dependency, se l f -b lame, and lack of community suppor t .
(Hil ton. Battered women's concerns about t h e i r ch i ld ren witness ing
wife a s s a u l t (1992) J . of In te rpe rsona l Violence 7, pp. 77-86. )
They may be f i nanc i a l l y dependent on the b a t t e r e r and may a l so want
the presence of a fa the r , a lb e i t a poor ro le model. They may a l so
fea r los ing the ch i ldren , as many ba t t e r e r s t h rea ten t he i r par tne rs
with t ak ing away the ch i ld ren , and with proving her to be an
"unf i t " mother.
These fea r s are well- founded s ince some research sugges ts t ha t
pe rpe t r a to r s of domestic v io lence ac tua l ly have a good chance of
convincing judges t ha t they should have custody. (Zorza, Woman
ba t t e r i ng : a major cause of homelessness (1991) Clearinghouse
Review, 25 pp. 421-429.) Sometimes ba t te red spouses are depr ived
economical ly to the poin t of being l e f t homeless. On the othe r
hand, some ba t te red women may decide to l eave if they s t a r t to
recognize the impact the v io lence has on t h e i r chi ldren . Most
of ten , th i s decis ion happens a f t e r an i nc iden t of d i r ec t physica l
or sexua l abuse of the ch i ld ren , o r when the ba t te red spouse s t a r t s
to recognize the impact t ha t exposure to the v io lence has on t h e i r
chi ldren . (Hi l ton, supra , a t pp. 77-86.)
23
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 30/48
The research on chi ldren of divorce and t ha t of chi ldren
exposed to domestic vio lence has developed as tw o separa te
branches , which of ten l eads to conf l i c t ing advice fo r bat t e red
spouses.
The general l i t e r a t u r e on the impact of divorce s t resses the
negative in f luence of conf l i c t on chi ldren and the pos i t ive
in f luence of a co-parent ing re la t ionship where the chi ldren
maintain an ongoing, suppor t ive re la t ionship with both parents .
This i s of ten t rue fo r nonviolent fami l i e s . In r e a l i t y , though,
contes ted custody cases of ten represent a higher l e ve l of violence
compared to the genera l popula t ion of divorcing adul t s . (Johnston
& Campbell . Parent -ch i ld re la t ionship in domestic violence fami l ies
d isput ing custody (1993) Fam. Concil . Courts Rev. 31 pp. 282-298.)
When domest ic vio lence has been present , a co-parent ing
re la t ionship and the impact o f the conf l i c t on the chi ldren of ten
represents a negat ive inf luence on the ch i ldren . Many bat t e red
spouses are p laced in a s i tua t ion where they are advised to promote
a re la t ionship and se t as ide t he i r pa s t conf l i c t s with an ex-spouse
who may be a danger to themselves and t h e i r chi ldren . I f they do
not comply, they may be deemed "unfr iendly or unf i t parents" and
they can lose custody to an abusive parent . (Zorza. ' F r iendly
parent ' provis ions in custody determinat ions . (1992) Clearinghouse
Review 26 pp. 921-925.)
One of the most important i ssues t ha t of ten goes unrecognized
by many l ega l and mental hea l th profess iona l s i s t ha t the v io lence
does not end with separa t ion . Many chi ldren of bat t e red spouses
24
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 31/48
f ind t h e i r exper iences to be the opposi te .
A l a rge sca le s tudy of ch i ld ren of ba t te red women in she l t e r s
in Ca l i forn ia showed t ha t separa t ion t ends to l ead to an esca la t ion
of violence and a grea t e r danger fo r th e safe ty of t h e i r mother.
(Jaffe , supra , a t p . 24.) I t i s est rangement , not argument, t h a t
begets the wors t violence as a majori ty of spousa l murders happen
a f t e r the woman l eaves (deBecker, supra , a t p . 184. ) In f ac t , many
cour ts promote unsupervised v i s i t a t i o n orders , and t h i s may give
abusive spouses an ongoing oppor tuni ty to expose chi ldren to
violence o r t h r ea t s of vio lence . Recent c l i n i c a l ana lys i s in
Canada poin t s to th e ongoing psychologica l abuse whereby chi ldren
become pawns in custody ba t t l e s in order both to punish and devalue
t h e i r mother and to t r y to rewr i t e the his tory of abuse and
parent ing . ( Ja f fe , supra , a t p . 24.)
Paradoxical ly ,
repor ted because
women may not be be l ieved when violence
they are seen as exaggera t ing i nc iden t s
i s
o f
violence as a way of manipulat ing the cour t s . Many of these women
who su f fe r pos t t raumat ic s t r e s s d i so rder have been l abe l led as
his t r ion ic o r worse. For example, a r ecen t a r t i c l e discussed a
supposed "Malicious Mother Syndrome" in divorce as an "explana t ion"
as to why some women hold animosi ty toward t h e i r former husbands,
at tempt to blame t he i r ex-husbands fo r a l l the problems by accus ing
them of various behaviors , and at tempt to not allow the fa thers to
see the chi ldren . ( Ja f fe , supra , a t p. 24.)
The American Psychologica l Assoc ia t ion Pres ident ia l Task Force
on Violence and th e Family (1996) recent ly summarized th e
25
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 32/48
l i t e r a tu r e in t h i s area , and .expressed concerns about th e l abe l l i ng
and pa tho log iz ing o f ba t t e r e d women in divorce and cus tody cases .
When such l abe l l i ng occurs , men's v io lence may be minimized as only
an emot iona l r e a c t i o n to the separa t ion . (American Psychologica l
Assoc ia t ion , I s sues and Dilemmas in Family Violence (1996) American
Psycho log ica l Associa t ion Pre s ide n t i a l Task Force on Violence and
the Family , pp. 13-15 . )
26
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 33/48
IV. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHOULD BE A PRIMARY CONSIDERATION IN CHILD
CUSTODY DECISIONS
Domestic violence also p lay sa
s igni f icant p a r t in many
cus tody d i spu tes and should be a pr imary cons idera t ion in ques t ions
of both b e s t i n t e r e s t s and de t r imen t to ch i ld ren .
J a f f e contends t h a t the abusive paren t di scove rs t h a t , p o s t
marr iage , th e most e f fec t i ve way to hur t o r des t roy t he o the r
paren t i s through emot iona l o r psychological abuse u t i l i z i n g the
domest ic c o u r t s . He note s t h a t ch i ld ren in cr i s i s who openly
d i sc lose th e violence and trauma l ea rn to be s i l e n t - d i sc losu re
j u s t angers the person wi th the most power and may have d i r e c t and
i nd i rec t repercuss ions fo r them and t h e i r mother upon v i s i t a t i o n .
For many ch i ld ren , t h e i r mother has modeled s i l e nc e in th e
r e l a t i ons h ip , and t h i s pa t t e rn i s d i f f i c u l t to change, e s pe c i a l l y
if t h e i r s a f e ty i s fu r the r jeopardized by any d i sc losu re . ( Ja f fe ,
supra , a t p. 27.)
Dr. Ja f fe concludes t h a t the genera l i zed not ions o f j o i n t
cus tody and tw o equal .parents coopera t ive ly planning fo r t h e i r
ch i l d ren ' s fu tu re i s impossible fo r many couples when the re i s
family violence. In f ac t , he be l i eves t ha t fo r ba t t e r e d spouses ,
t h i s not ion of shared cus tody may perpe tua te the violence and
abus ive power and con t ro l in family r e l a t i ons h ips .
A. PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM HARM
In cases involving documented domest ic violence , it i s 'in th e
bes t i n t e r e s t s of ch i ld ren to re s i d e with a non-v io len t care taker ,
r a the r than a b a t t e r e r .
27
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 34/48
In determining the b e s t in te re s t s of th e chi ld , Cal i fo rn ia
Family Code (3011) 6requi res t ha t the Court cons ider any his tory
of abuse by one parent aga ins t the chi ld o r aga ins t the othe r
pa rent .
Ca l i forn ia i s not a lone in inc luding domestic violence as a
fac tor to be considered in determining the bes t i n t e r e s t s of a
chi ld . In fac t , even when a dispute i s between a paren t and a non-
paren t , 35 s t a t e s have s t a t u t e s t ha t requ i re courts to cons ider
evidence o f domestic violence or abuse of a spouse when making
chi ld cus tody or v i s i t a t i o n determinat ion .
Before the cour t reaches th e be s t i n t e r e s t s t e s t , the non-
paren t seeking custody must prove det r iment if the chi ld i s placed
with th e paren t , "by c l e a r and convincing evidence". (Guardianship
of Stephen G. (1995) 40 Cal. App.4th. 1418.) Clear and convincing
i s descr ibed as nothing l ess than evidence t ha t " is so c l e a r as to
leave no subs t an t i a l doubt. I t must be su f f i c i en t ly s t rong to
6Family Code sec t ion 3011 s t a t e s in par t :"In making a dete rmina t ion of the bes t i n t e r e s t of the chi ld in aproceeding descr ibed in sec t ion 3021, the cour t sha l l , among anyo ther fac tors it f inds re levant , cons ider a l l of the fol lowing:a) The hea l th , sa fe ty , and welfare of the chi ld , b)Any his tory of
abuse by a paren t , o r any o the r person seeking custody aga ins t anyof th e fol lowing: 1) Any ch i l d to whom he o r she i s r e l a t ed byblood o r a f f i n i t y or with whom he o r she has had a care taking
re la t ionship , no mat te r how temporary. 2) The o ther paren t . 3) Aparent , current spouse , or cohabi tan t , of the paren t or personseeking custody, or a person with whom the paren t o r person seekingcustody has a dat ing or engagement re la t ionship . (Emphasis a9ded.)
As a pre - requ i s i t e to the considera t ion of a l l e ga t ions of
abuse, the cour t may requ i re subs t an t i a l independent cor robora t ion
including , but not l imi ted to , wri t ten repor t s by law enforcementagencies ... As used in th i s subd iv i s ion , ' abuse aga ins t a ch i l d 'means ' c h i ld abuse ' as def ined in Sect ion 11165.6 of the Penal Codeand abuse agains t any of the o ther persons descr ibed in Sect ion
6203 of the Family Code."
28
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 35/48
command an unhe s i t a t i ng as sen t in every reasonable mind". (In re
David C. (1984) 154 Cal. App. 3d. 1189, 1208.)
The def in i t i on of det r iment i s f a i r l y broad and inc ludes more
than d i rec t phys ica l abuse between paren t and chi ld . In re Heather
(1996) 52 Cal . App. 4 th 183, i l l u s t r a t e s the poin t . There, th e
t r i a l cour t denied cus tody to an ordained mini s t e r who bea t h is
wife . The f a th e r ' s h i s t o ry o f abuse inc luded choking, h i t t ing and
t h rea t s to k i l l h is wife . The ch i ld ren , twin 5-year o ld daughters ,
had not been beaten , but t h e i r stepmother , Ramona, the beat ing
vic t im, sa id they were in the room dur ing severa l of the inc idents
and once accompanied her to th e hosp i t a l .
In the case , the fa the r , i den t i f i ed as Harold A., pleaded no
contes t to spousa l abuse in September, 1994, an inc ident which l e f t
Ramona a head f r ac t u re which requi red hospi t a l i za t ion . This
beat ing did not occur in f ron t of the chi ldren as they were as leep
in another p a r t of the house. Afte r the inc ident , Los Angeles
County soc ia l workers t r i ed to remove th e chi ldren from h is care .
However, during a 1995 custody hear ing, t he m in i s te r denied h i t t i n g
h is wife and sa id he en te red the p le a only to "preserve the
family". (In re Heather A., supra, a t p . 317.)
Never theless , the Super ior Court judge denied custody to both
the fa the r and stepmother , and ordered the chi ldren placed in
fos t e r care . The ru l ing was upheld by the Second Dis t r i c t Court o f
Appeal. In addi t ion to poss ib le phys ica l i n ju ry the g i r l s f a ~ e d in
a v io len t household, they could s u f f e r " las t ing psychologica l
damage" i f exposed to the abuse of t h e i r stepmother, the Appel la te
29
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 36/48
Court sa id , underscor ing t_he spec ia l r i sk presented by family
v io lence :
11 I t i s c lea r to th i s Court t ha t domestic v io lence in the
household where chi ldren are l i v i ng i s neg lec t ; it i s f a i l u re
to p ro t e c t ( the twins) from subs t an t i a l r i sk of encounter ing
the vio lence and s u f f e r ing se r ious phys ica l harm o r i l l n e s s
from it. Such neg lec t causes the r i s k . 11 (In re Heather A.,
supra , a t pp. 315-322.)
As to cur ren t and fu ture detr iment , the Court found t ha t
domest ic violence in the same household where ch i ld ren were l iv ing
i s "secondary abuse" 7of the ch i ld ren . (In re Heather A. , supra ,
a t p . 3OS.)
Despi te the f indings of Ja f fe and o thers , and t h i s r ecen t
decis ion which underscores spec ia l r i sks to chi ldren from l iv ing
with a ba t t e r e r , resea rch ind ica tes t ha t custody eva lua to rs seldom
cons ider domestic v io lence in making chi ld custody recommendations.
A survey of psychologis t s from 39 s t a t e s who conducted custody
eva lua t ions amazingly ind ica tes tha t domest ic violence was not
considered a major f ac t o r in making custody determinat ions except
as a poss ib le r a t iona l i za t ion fo r not recommending j o i n t custody.
(Ackerman & Ackerman, "Child Custody Evaluat ion Prac t ices : A 1996
Survey of Psychologis ts" (1996) Fam. L.Q. 30(3) , p . 565.) Even
7 The concept of 11 secondary abuse 1 was recognized in In ·re Jon~ w h e r e a f a t he r ques t ioned the s u i t ab i l i t y of the minor ' s motherto be a cus tod ia l parent . The Court found t ha t there had beenongoing domestic v io lence between the minor ' s parents which mustinevi tab ly have a f fec ted the chi ld even though he had not beenphys ica l ly in jured . (In re Jon N., supra a t pp. 156, 161. )
30
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 37/48
then, it was seldom l i s t e d as a determining fac tor . When the
psychologis t s were asked fo r three to f ive reasons tha t would most
suppor t not recommending j o in t custody, family/domest ic violence
was the second l e a s t l i k e ly reason. Of more concern was the
f inding tha t over th ree quar te rs of the custody evaluators
recommend denying sole or j o in t custody to a parent who "a l i ena tes
the chi ld from the othe r pa rent by negat ive ly i n t e rp re t ing the
o the r paren t ' s behavior" . (Ackerman & Ackerman, supra , a t p . 565.)
This l a t t e r f inding ind ica tes tha t custody eva lua tors may be
more l ike ly to blame the parent seen as more hos t i l e and
uncooperat ive and, thus, deny the parent sole or j o in t custody even
in cases involving domestic vio lence .
B. BEST INTEREST AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
In custody cases , Family Courts have a long his tory of
examining a wide range of paren t s ' behavior as it r e l a t e s to the
chi ldren ' s bes t i n t e r e s t . In cases of domestic violence, the cour t
should examine a wide spectrum of parents ' behavior , not j u s t
whether they have been convic ted of bea t ing a spouse as violence i s
r a r e ly ever i so la ted .
However, judges are of ten faced with another paradox inherent
in ba t t e r i ng re l a t i onsh i ps . On one hand, cour ts a re often
presented with evidence showing spec ia l r i sks chi ldren face when
they are placed in the cus tody of an abuser - r i sks , not only to
t he i r physica l safe ty , bu t also to t h e i r emotional and
developmental needs. On the o the r hand, j u r i s t s are to ld by court -
appointed exper ts - who may, as the Ackerman s tudy poin t s out ,
31
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 38/48
downplay domest ic violence -· t ha t the chi ldren in a given case have
a ' ' c lose bond" with a paren t who has committed domestic v io lence .
In f ac t , the chi ldren may even say they " jus t want to go home".
The apparent closeness between a pe rpe t r a to r of domestic
violence and t h e i r ch i ld ren , whether ba t te red or no t , i s expla ined
by the concept of " t raumat ic bonding" . 8 These i n t e rm i t t e n t
mal t rea tment pa t t e rns have been found to produce s t rong emot ional
at tachments and i s the very reason many ba t t e red spouses s tay in
abus ive r e l a t i ons h ips (Dutton, supra , a t p. 191.) Simi lar ly ,
ch i ld ren may also appear emot iona l ly close to the very paren t who
i s th e most dangerous because they are a f ra id of them. But, as
Perry po in t s out , l iv ing with domest ic violence only makes it more
l i ke ly the c h i ld w i l l r epea t the cyc le of violence themselves .
(Perry, supra , a t p. 124-149.) In fac t , ch i ld ren who grow up in
abus ive homes are more a t r i sk fo r committ ing violence themselves,
bothwithin
andouts ide
t h e i rown f ami l ies
(Dutton, supra ,a t
p.
ix . )
C. SPOUSAL MURDER AND DETRIMENT TO CHILDREN
Psychological det r iment to chi ldren by the murder of a paren t
i s ind isputable and i r r epa rable in terms of t h e i r l o s s . When
address ing t h i s ques t ion of det r iment , the cour t should examine the
" to t a l i t y of the evidence" r e l a t ed to cur ren t and fu ture harm to
the ch i ld ren . (Guardianship of Phi l l ip B, supra , a t pp. 407,421.)
8 "Traumatic bonding" i s the development of s t rong emot ionalt i e s between tw o persons, wi th one person in te rmi t ten t ly harass ing ,
beat ing , th rea tening , abus ing o r in t imida t ing the o ther . (Dutton,supra , a t p . 190)"
32
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 39/48
A major i ty o f female homicide vic t ims are k i l l ed by t he i r
par tne rs , ex-pa r tne rs , o r boyfr iends . (Jaf fe , supra , a t p. 20;
Gelles and St rauss , supra, a t p. 18.) However, in domestic
disputes , the re are numerous pre- inc ident ind ica tors a s soc ia ted
with spousa l vio lence and murder. deBecker, who grew up in a
family with domestic violence , descr ibed these "pre- inc ident"
behaviors as s i gna l s . Noting t h a t they wil l not be presen t in
every case , he caut ions tha t i f a s i tua t ion has severa l of these
ind ica tors , t he re i s reason fo r concern. (deBecker, supra , a t p .
174.)
1) The woman has i n tu i t i ve fee l ings t ha t she i s a t r i sk .2) At the incept ion of the r e l a t i onsh i p , the man accelera ted
th e pace, prematurely plac ing on the agenda such th ings
as commitment, l iv ing toge the r , and marr iage.3) He reso lves conf l i c t with in t imidat ion , bul ly ing , and
vio lence .
4) He i s verba l ly abusive.5) He uses th rea t s and in t imida t ion as ins truments of
cont ro l o r abuse. This inc ludes t h rea t s to harm
phys ica l ly , to defame, to embarrass , to r e s t r i c t freedom,to disc lose sec re t s , to cu t o ff suppor t , to abandon, andto commit suic ide .
6) He breaks or s t r ikes th ings in anger . He uses symbolicviolence ( tear ing a wedding photo, marring a face in aphoto, e t c . ) .
7) He has bat t e red in pr io r re la t ionships .8) He uses alcohol or drugs with adverse a f f ec t s (memory
loss , hos t i l i t y , c rue l t y ) .9) He c i t e s alcohol or drugs as an excuse or explanat ion fo r
hos t i l e or v io l e n t conduct ("That was the booze t a lk ing ,not me: I go t so drunk I was crazy") .
10) His h i s t o ry inc ludes pol ice encounters fo r behaviora l
offenses ( threa t s , s ta lk ing , assau l t , ba t t e ry ) .11) There has been more than one inc ident of v io l e n t behavior
( including vandalism, breaking th ings , throwing th ings) .12) He uses money to cont ro l the a c t i v i t i e s , p u r c h a s e ~ , and
behavior o f his wi fe /pa r tne r . ·13) He becomes jealous of anyone o r anything t ha t takes he r
time away from the re la t ionship ; he keeps her on a " t igh tl eash" , requires her to account fo r her t ime.
14) He re fuses to accept re jec t ion .15) He expects the re la t ionship to go on forever , perhaps
33
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 40/48
us ing phrases l i ke " together fo r l i f e " , "always", "nomat te r what."
16) He pro j ec t s extreme emotions onto others (hate , love ,
j ea lousy , commitment) even when there i s no evidence t ha t
would l ead a reasonable person to perceive them.17) He minimizes inc idents of abuse.18) He spends a d i sp ropor t iona te amount of t ime t a lk ing about
h is wife /pa r tne r and derives much of h is i d e n t i t y frombeing her husband, lover , e tc .
19) He t r i e s to e n l i s t h is wife ' s f r i ends o r r e l a t ives in acampaign to keep o r recover th e re la t ionship .
20) He has inappropr ia te ly surve i led or followed h is
wi fe /pa r tne r .21) He be l i eves o the rs a re out to g e t him. He be l i eves t h a t
those around his wi fe /pa r tne r d i s l i ke him and encourageher to leave.
22) He r e s i s t s change and i s descr ibed as i n f l ex ib l e ,
unwi l l ing to compromise.23) He i den t i f i e s with o r compares himself to v io l e n t people
in f i lms, news s to r i e s , f i c t i on , o r his tory . Hecharac te r izes the v io lence of others as j u s t i f i e d .
24) He su f fe r s mood swings o r i s s u l l e n , angry, o r depressed.25) He c ons i s t e n t ly blames o thers fo r problems of h is own
making; he re fuses to take r e spons i b i l i t y fo r the re su l t sof h is ac t ions .
26) He r e f e r s to weapons as ins t ruments of power, cont ro l , o r
revenge.27) Weapons are a subs t an t i a l p a r t of h is persona: he has a
gun o r he t a l k s about , jokes about, reads about , or
co l l ec t s weapons.
28) He uses "male pr iv i lege" as a j u s t i f i c a t i o n fo r h i sconduct ( t rea t s h er l ike a servant , makes a l l the b ig
dec i s ions , acts l i ke the "master of the house".29) He exper ienced o r witnesses violence as a chi ld .30) His wife /pa r tne r fea r s he wi l l in jure or k i l l her . She
has discussed t h i s with othe r or has made plans to beca r r i ed out in th e event of her death (e .g . , designat ing
someone to care fo r chi ldren) . (deBecker, supra , a t p.175. ) 9
9 The above list of behaviors has been used by deBecker to
develop a computer program, MOSAIC-20, t ha t assesses the deta. i ls of
abused spouse ' s s i tua t ion as they repor t it to pol ice (deB·ecker,supra, a t p. 191) . MOSAIC-20 i s now used in the Los Angeles CountyS h e r i f f ' s Department, the Los Angeles County Dis t r i c t At to rney ' s
of f i ce , and othe r po l i ce departments across the country, to f l agcases in which the danger of homicide i s highest . (deBecker, supra ,
atp. 313-314. )
34
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 41/48
In the case a t bench, Judge Nancy Weiben Stock heard evidence
of a pat te rn of domest ic vio lence perpe t ra ted by the f a t he r towards
the mother which i s cons i s t en t with the above list of ind ica tors
assoc ia t ed with spousa l vio lence and murder. These behaviors
inc luded, but were no t l imi ted to , verba l and phys ica l abuse,
a r r e s t of the fa ther for domestic vio lence , s lapping inc ident s on
a t l ea s t th ree separa te occas ions , as wel l as s ta tements by the
mother to dispatch pol ice in an inc ident of al leged v io lence . (In
re Sydney and Jus t i n S . , supra , a t pp. 6-7.) Nevertheless , the
t r i a l cour t decl ined to hear the t o t a l i t y of the evidence on
whether the f a t he r was responsib le fo r the death of the mother ,
s t a t ing t h i s "would not be in the bes t i n t e r e s t s of the ch i ldren"
because of cons iderable r i s k o f fur ther damaging pub l i c i ty and
delays in the custody dec is ion . (In re Sydney and Jus t in S . , supra ,
a t pp . 9 -1 o . )
Amici bel ieve the j udge ' s decis ion inappropr ia te ly discounted
concerns regarding the ch i ld ren ' s safe ty in favor of l ess impor tant
considera t ions such as adverse publ ic i ty and delays in the custody
decis ion .
35
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 42/48
V. THE BEST INTERESTS OF CHILDREN ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THOSE
OF BIOLOGICAL PARENTS
Children s sa fe t y and well -being should be the court 1 s primary
concern above th e prev ious ly assumed bes t i n t e r e s t s of the
bio logica l pa rents .
In determinat ion of cus tody 1 the b e s t i n t e r e s t s tandard i s
genera l ly used with the under ly ing not ion t ha t the re are two fit
b io log ic a l ( legal ) parents . In parent /non-parent d i spu tes / the
det r iment s tandard i s used to counterbalance the b io log ic a l parents
grea t e r l ega l r i gh t to the chi ld .
But 1 i f a paren t was an admit ted b a t t e r e r and had been found
to have caused the dea th o f the other spouse/ should th e Court
automat ica l ly grant custody to t ha t surviv ing paren t 1 given t ha t
det r iment had a l ready occur red to the chi ldren due to the loss of
a parent? Should the Court look a t a wide range o f domestic
v io l e n t behaviors of t h a t su rv iv ing paren t 1 across t ime 1 before
making a determinat ion of what i s in the chi ldren 1 s bes t i n t e re s t s?
Or 1 in the a l t e rna t i ve / should th e Court only be concerned i f the
surv iv ing spouse had been convic ted of spousal abuse/ ignor ing the
fac t t ha t violence i s r a r e ly ever i so la ted? Should the Court
unders tand t ha t gr iev ing chi ldren may a l so be t r aumat ica l ly bonded
and express a prefe rence to l i ve with the surviv ing parent / even if
he i s a ba t t e re r?
Whose bes t i n t e r e s t s are primary: the ch i ld ren o r the
surviv ing bio logica l paren t who may be a pe rpe t r a to r o f domestic
vio lence?
36
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 43/48
The chi ldren1
S bes t i n t e r e s t s are primary and keeping them
from harm1s way supersedes the bes t i n t e r e s t s of bio logica l paren t s
who have a h i s to ry of domest ic v io lence . Therefore 1 amici makes
the same presumpt ion c l i n i c a l l y as has the Nat iona l Council &
Family Court Judges in t h e i r 1994 Model Code on Family Violence:
There should be a rebu t t ab le presumpt ion agains t so le custody o r
j o i n t custody fo r abusive par tne rs even if they have never d i r ec t ly
abused t h e i r ch i ld ren . 10
As demonst ra ted in t h i s b r i e f / domestic violence i s harmful to
ch i ld ren , whether they are abused or no t . Therefore , domestic
violence i s presumed to be de t r imen ta l to chi ldren as wel l as not
be in t h e i r bes t i n t e r e s t s . To t h i s end1
the sa fe ty and wel l -be ing
of ch i ld ren should be e leva ted above a l l bes t i n t e r e s t fac to rs in
those disputed custody cases where there has been a f inding of
10 Regarding custody the Model Code s t a t e s : (Sect ion 401) "In
every proceeding where t he re i s / a t l ea s t 1 a t i s sue a dispute as tocustody of a chi ld 1 a dete rmina t ion by the cour t t ha t domestic or
family vio lence has occurred, ra i ses a rebu t t ab le presumption t ha ti s detr imenta l to th e chi ld and not in the bes t i n t e r e s t s of thechi ld to be placed in so le custody, j o i n t l ega l custody, or j o i n t
phys ical custody with a pe rpe t r a to r of family v io lence ." (M::delCode, supra , a t p . 33.)
Given t h i s rebu t t ab le presumption/ the Model Code (Sect ion402) l i s t s fac to rs t ha t should be u t i l i zed in dete rmining cus todyand v i s i t a t ion when domestic violence has occurred.
"In add i t ion to the o ther fac to rs t ha t a cour t must cons ider
in the proceeding in which the custody of a ch i ld o r v i s i t a t ion bya parent i s a t i s sue in which the Court has made a f inding of
domestic or family violence:a) The Court sha l l cons ider as primary the sa fe ty and wel l
being of the chi ld and of the paren t who i sthe vic t im of domestic or family vio lence /
b) The Court sha l l cons ider the perpe t ra to r / s his tory of
caus ing phys ica l harm, bodi ly in jury / a s s a u l t or causingreasonable fea r of phys ical harm/ bodi ly i n ju ry o r
assaul t to another person. (Model Code/ supra a t p . 33)"
37
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 44/48
abuse by one paren t of the othe r .
A f inding of domest ic vio lence by a parent presumes detr iment
to the chi ldren i f they res ide with a ba t te re r as a primary
cus todian. (In re Heather A., supra, a t p. 317.) This f inding
compels the Court to consider , by his tory , both the ac t s and the
pat t e rns of physica l abuse i n f l i c t ed by the abuser on othe r
persons, not l imi ted to chi ldren and the abused parent , as wel l as
the f ea r of physica l harm reasonably engendered by th i s behavior .
Research f indings d iscussed in t h i s b r i e f ind ica te t ha t
domest ic violence i s r a r e ly ever i so la ted . Thus, amici contend
tha t d i sc re t e ac t s of abuse do not accura te ly convey the r i sk of
cont inuing vio lence , the l i k e ly seve r i t y of fu ture abuse, or the
magnitude of fear prec ip i t a t ed by the composite pic ture of vio len t
conduct .
By sh ie ld ing ch i ldren from fu ture det r iment through a
rebut tab le presumption, the court p laces t h e i r be s t i n t e r e s t s as
primary. This prevents the perpe t ra t o r of domest ic vio lence from
benef i t ing from h is v i o l en t , abusive conduct in cases such as
spousal murder, where custody of the ch i ldren may be awarded to the
surv iv ing parent .
In addi t ion to the Nat ional Council o f Juveni le and Family
Court Judges, the Cal i forn ia l eg is la ture gave the i s sue o f
ch i l d ren ' s s a fe t y top pr i o r i t y in chi ld custody decis ion making. 11
11 Effec t ive January 1, 1998, Assembly Bi l l 200, (Kuehl) amendsSect ions 3004, 3011, 3020, 3161, and 3162 of the Family Code. Th eLegis la t ive Counsel 's Digest s ta te s : " I t i s also the pol icy of t h i ss t a t e t ha t the hea l th , sa fe ty , and welfare of chi ldren sha l l be th ec o u r t ' s primary concern in determining bes t i n t e r e s t of chi ldren
38
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 45/48
Further, in 1994, the American Bar Associat ion recommended tha t
chi ldren ' s bes t i n t e res t s be elevated above those o f bio logica l
parents who are ba t t e r e r s . u
when making orders regarding custody o r vi s i t a t ion , t ha tperpe t ra t ion of chi ld abuse or domestic violence in a householdwhere a chi ld res ides i s det r imenta l to a chi ld , and where th i spol icy and the exis t ing pol icy a re in conf l i c t , an order fo rcustody and v i s i t a t i on should be made tha t ensures the heal th ,safe ty , and welfare of the chi ld and the safe ty of a l l familymembers." (Cal i fornia Legis la ture , Assembly B i l l 200 (1997)
paragraph 2)
l2The ABA recommended:" ... tha t custody not be awarded, in whole
or in pa r t , to a parent with a his tory of i n f l i c t ing domesticvio lence , t ha t vi s i t a t ion be awarded to such parent only i f thesafe ty and well-being of the abused parent and chi ldren can beprotec ted, and t ha t a l l awards of vi s i t a t ion incorpora te expl ic i tpro tec t ions for the chi ld and the abused parent (ABA Center onChildren and the Law. The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children:A Report to the Pres ident of the American Bar Associat ion.Washington, D.C., p. 15.)
39
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 46/48
VI. CONCLUSION
Chi ldren a re a t gre a t r i sk l i v ing with a perpe t ra t o r of
domest ic vio lence . Whether they have been abused or no t , they
experience th e same psychological fea r s and may be t r aumat ica l ly
bonded to the b a t t e r e r , even express ing a preference to l i ve with
them. In th e case o f spousa l murder , t hese ch i ld ren may s u f f e r
11 secondary abuse 1, adopt ing a pa t t e rn of emot ional compliance
because they may f e a r th e pena l ty fo r misbehaving could be phys ica l
harm. However, the grea t e s t fu ture harm ch i ld ren face l i v i ng with
a ba t t e r e r i s t h a t they w i l l l ive to exper ience the su rv iv ing
paren t bea t ano ther pa r tne r , r ecyc l ing the cl imate of fea r t ha t i s
so de t r imen ta l to ch i ld ren . Moreover, if they remain with a
ba t t e r e r , th e same neurob io log ica l adapta t ions t ha t helps them
psycho log ica l ly su rv ive the t raumas assoc ia t ed with domest ic
violence make it more l i ke ly they w i l l grow up to be v io l e n t
themselves.
To preven t fu tu re detr iment , ch i l d ren ' s sa fe ty and wel l being
should be elevated above the p rev ious ly assumed bes t i n t e r e s t s of
bio logica l pa rents . And, what i s most needed to in su re ch i l d ren ' s
protec t ion in custody cases where there has been domestic violence
i s a new commitment to p r io r i t i z e ch i l d ren ' s sa fe ty as an e s s e n t i a l
corners tone o f the j u s t i c e system. I f the j u s t i ce system cannot
o f f e r these ch i ld ren a vis ion of not being with a ba t t e r e r , t he re
40
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 47/48
can be no dream of a safe fu ture fo r them, because the cycle of
violence wi l l cont inue.
Dated: December 1 1997
41
Respec t fu l ly Submitted,
Stephen Temko, Esq.SBN 67785
Paul Mones, Esq.SBN 128329
Attorneys fo r Amici
8/6/2019 AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amicus-curiae-brief 48/48
DECLARATION OF SERVICE BY MAIL
I , Stephen Temko, dec la re :
I am over 18 years o f age, and n o t a par ty to th e wi th in
cause ; my bus iness address i s 1666 Garne t NO. 502, San Diego,
92109. I served one copy o f th e a t tached :AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF
STEPHEN E. DOYNE, Ph.D. , J REID MELOY, Ph.D. , DON DUTTON, Ph.D. ,PETER JAFFE, Ph.D. , PROFESSOR JANET BOWERMASTER, THE PUBLIC LAW
CENTER, THE CALIFORNIA WOMEN'S LAW CENTER AND THE CALIFORNIAALLIANCE AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
on each of the fo l lowing, by p lac ing same in an envelope (o r
envelopes addressed ( r espec t ive ly ) as fo l lows:
Bernie Leck ie , Esq.Meserve , Mumper & Hughes2301 Dupont DriveSui t e 410
I rv i n e , CA 92612Attorney fo r Respondent
Kimberly Kni l l , Esq.1461 GlenneyreSui te DLaguna Beach, CA 92651fax 714 497 9637
t e l : 714 497 8313
Attorney fo r Appel lan t
Court o f AppealFourth Appel la te D i s t r i c t
Divis ion Three925 Spurgion St r e e tSanta Ana, CA 92701714 558 67790+ 4
Each envelope was then , on December 1997 sea led anddepos i t ed in th e United St a t e s Mail a t San Diego, Cal i fo rn ia ,
The county in which I am employed, with th e postage thereon
fu l l y prepa id . I dec la re under pena l ty of per ju ry t h a t th e
foregoing i s t rue and c o r re c t .
Executed on December ___ , 1997 a t San Diego, C al i f o r n i a .
STEPHEN TEMKO