Law Office of Marci D. Silver, P.A.

I recently had a prospective client call about wanting a divorce and soon came to realize that her case dealt with far more than one simple divorce. Although she and her husband had very little in assets, they shared a daughter together and he was arrested for domestic battery. I soon came to realize how important it is for someone finding themselves newly involved in the court system to know how the operation works.

In Florida, you will find that any time there is a domestic violence case and a child was present or involved, Department of Children and Families (DCF) will become involved. There will be an initial investigation, a recommendation that the victim obtain a restraining order or injunction, and possibly a shelter hearing to ensure the safety of the child from the violent partner. Aside from that, there will be a first appearance for the perpetrator who will likely be told to have no contact with the victim and/or the child through the duration of the criminal case or until otherwise changed by the Court. When a divorce is then filed on top of that, you now have four courts involved in the case (provided that the victim has taken the strong suggestion from Department of Children and Families to obtain an injunction against the perpetrator).

In many circuits there is an effort to consolidate the civil matters into one Unified Family Court in so that the proverbial left hand knows what the right hand is doing and all parties in the dependancy case (with DCF), attorneys and parties involved in the divorce and the judge who issued the restraining order or has the file before them, will all know the issues involved. Likely, the perpetrator of the alleged violence in the home will be ordered through the dependancy case to seek a lengthy stint of counseling that will also require supervised visits with their child for a time until DCF is sure the perpetrator is not a risk to the child. The victim may at times, although possibly being considered the “non-offending” parent, will be ordered into victim classes at a shelter for battered spouses.

However, even at the point that the Unified Family Court makes a decision that both parties may have contact with each other and the child, this may not be accomplished until and unless the criminal court says so. It is critical for a perpetrator and a victim that wishes to reconcile or have contact with the perpetrator once the family court agrees, seek to have the no contact lifted in criminal court as well. All violations of no contact, no matter what court it comes from, can result in new criminal charges or contempt proceedings. However, in criminal court, this can also involve a revocation of bond on the charges. I often hear from Defendants in the criminal process that the “victim dropped those charges.” In Florida, the State Attorney has the right to pursue charges even if they are dropped. Unless you have in your possession the dismissal paperwork or your attorney has informed you the charges are dropped, they may still be pending. It is important that any accused perpetrator coordinate with ALL courts they may be involved with in order to ensure that reconcilation is possible in the court system.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 29th, 2007 at 2:50 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.