Protective Order Hearings-Spend a Little Now Save A Lot Later

My client represented himself in a protective order hearing. The charges were very serious. His wife claimed in her petition for the protective order that my client sexually abused her teenage son. At the protective order the mother testified as to what the son had told her. The son never got on the stand to testify as to what had happened. The judge listened to the mother's hearsay testimony and used it as evidence to find that my client did indeed sexually abuse the teenage boy. Had any minimally competent attorney been there he or she would've objected to this hearsay testimony and it would have been excluded. But this evidence came into the record and the judge believed it and was appropriately disgusted at my client's behavior.

He was kicked out of the marital home and ordered to stay away and ordered to make some payments to the household.

Over one month later his wife asked the court to hold my client in contempt for violating the protective order and also requested emergency family maintenance for the bills in the house. At this point he hired me.

I interviewed my client and his witnesses. I tried to speak to the teenage boy but my efforts were blocked. The wife claimed that my client broke into the marital home and took a shower and stole various items. She also claimed that he came up to the front door and rang the doorbell and ran away.

At the hearing the wife testified and I was able to discredit her testimony completely about breaking into the house and taking a shower. There was no evidence that my client came into the home and the judge agreed with that. As to the ringing of the doorbell she testified as did her daughter that they saw my client come up to the house ring the doorbell and then drive away in the car. I was able to somewhat successfully discredit his wife but I was not able to really touch the daughter. She had no obvious motive to lie about this. The judge did find that my client violated the protective order but he was not locked up, he was warned not to do that again.

The wife additionally requested emergency family maintenance which included the water bill, the electric bill, the gas bill and the cable bill. Prior to the hearing I went through my client's finances and he was upside down. He earned less than he spent every month and he was living a very frugal lifestyle. At the hearing the wife testified and submitted the various bills that she had including a $400 cable bill. The law in Maryland requires emergency family maintenance for necessary items. The judge was rather shocked at the $400 cable bill. On cross-examination it became clear to the court that the wife had not worked in years, that in her petition for divorce she stated under oath that "I am self-supporting" and do not need money support. My client presented his pay stubs and his lease and his financial statement clearly showing that he was "upside down" in terms of income. The judge found for my client and did not order any family maintenance.

Had my client hired an attorney prior to the initial hearing it likely never would've even gotten to the point of a protective order. There is some truth to the saying spend a little now save a lot later.