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Falsely accused dad wins in court
By Robert Philip
A father who was accused of physically abusing his ex-girlfriend, which could have landed him in jail and cost him his son, won his case in court.
The dad was represented by Jeffery M. Leving of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd. First, Leving successfully represented dad in a custody battle, and secured a court order awarding him joint custody and nearly 50% parenting time with his little boy, age 6.
Second, shortly after Leving achieved this successful result for dad, he called Leving again in a panic. He reported that he had brought his son to his ex-girlfriend’s house to exchange the child and that during the exchange, his ex, while she was holding the little boy, threw a hard lunch box at our client’s face and slapped him in the face – all of which was completely unprovoked by dad. In addition, according to court documents, a man came out of the mother’s house with a weapon during this incident.
Leving will talk about the case on the Dads Rights Legal Hour, 9-10 a.m. CDT this Saturday on Power 92.3 FM.
This wasn’t the first time, dad said, that the mother had physically attacked him. However, dad said he was afraid that she would twist what actually happened, and falsely claim that he hit her – and he’d end up in jail. And that false allegation is exactly what happened.
As feared, the adverse party filed an Emergency Motion, asking the Court to terminate all of dad’s parenting time, alleging that Leving’s client had slapped her, and that he had thrown a lunchbox at her – which was not true according to dad. She even claimed to have a bruise on her face – when he had never even hit her. She alleged that she reported the incident to the police, who were supposedly investigating. Leving’s client was worried he’d be thrown in jail and lose his son, unless he had a strong, strategic defense to his ex’s allegations.
Leving and his legal team jumped into action to prevent this dad from losing his liberty. They rushed into court and argued, first, that there was no emergency. Second, they argued, with supporting evidence, that the true facts were the complete opposite of what the adverse party claimed in her Motion.
The Court agreed with the Leving team and denied the mother’s Emergency Motion. Dad won.
“This was a very important victory, modified for broadcast, which kept an innocent and concerned dad from being locked up for something he didn’t do,” said Leving. “My client is very relieved that he no longer needs to fear being jailed and losing his son. He and his little boy, who just started back to school, can enjoy their time together without stress or worry of losing each other.”
Leving noted that the adverse party in this case said she made a police report, though the police were not called during this incident. “Anytime the police have to be called, there’s usually a troubled situation, and this is especially so in the area of law that we practice, family law,” matrimonial attorney Jeffrey L. Paustian said. Family law attorneys regularly deal with orders of protection, violations of orders of protection, disputes over turning over children to the other parent, and DCFS child abuse investigations. According to Leving, who has practiced matrimonial and family law for over forty years, these are high-stress, high-emotion situations, “where the stakes are high and there is often police involvement.”
On another note, advances in technology have had a great impact in family law and other areas of law. Over the last decade or so, the use of smart phones, and the likelihood that somebody has video surveillance, has added a new dimension to these cases and investigations. Police cameras, squad car cameras and surveillance video have also proliferated this decade. “We’re seeing with our own eyes events that we may have never before seen,” commented attorney Maureen A. Gorman.
The police now are under increased accountability and stressors. Especially when they turn up at a home for a domestic dispute, they never know what they are going to find on the other side of that door. “I suggest to anyone who’s involved in a domestic situation where the police are called, to be as calm as possible around the police. Don’t be a target,” said Leving.
There can be other issues with law enforcement too. Jacob Blake was reportedly shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, while he was getting in his car, with his three children already in the car. He survived, miraculously. It was further reported that he was paralyzed from the waist down. While he was in the hospital, he took a phone call from now Vice President Kamala Harris.
“During their conversation, Vice President Harris told Jacob Blake that she’s proud of him for the way he’s working through his pain,” said Leving. Jacob assured the Vice President that he was not going to give up on life, for the sake of his children.
You don’t have to be perfect to be a good father. This man was hanging on to life for his kids, and we can learn a valuable lesson from him in terms of fathers knowing their love for their children.
(Jeffery M. Leving is founder and president of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. He is the author of Fathers’ Rights, Divorce Wars and How to be a Good Divorced Dad, the latter of which was endorsed by President Obama. To learn more about Leving and his latest court victories, follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and view his videos on You Tube.)
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