Domestic Non Violent Abuse (Abuse Forum Not Working)

[Allan Burnham]

Jurisdiction

California

My daughter has been emotionally abused for a long time, the language he uses is extremely vile and he does it in front of the 7-year-old. Her husband has kicked her out of the house with a 5-month-old baby and a 7-year-old daughter. He has verbally done this and he has texted her telling her to get out. As things have been escalating she has been voice recording the incidences without his permission. My daughter and grandchildren are living with my wife and me
Question;
1.) She has written a transcript of all of the recordings. If he denies in court all of the abuse that she has been taking, can either the recordings or transcripts be allowed in a California courtroom?
2.) She has been told by a friend (Not A Lawyer) that the Judge can listen to the recordings in private, is that correct?

This forum section is the only one that I thought was appropriate as I could not access the Abuse & Domestic Violence forum.

Thank you, Al

 

[army judge]

If he denies in court all of the abuse that she has been taking, can either the recordings or transcripts be allowed in a California courtroom?
2.) She has been told by a friend (Not A Lawyer) that the Judge can listen to the recordings in private, is that correct?

Recordings can be allowed in court DEPENDING upon the AUTHENTICITY of said recordings and how strenuously the other side objects.

Bottom line, it might not be a Slam dunk.

Judge's tend NOT to do what her friend told her.

Why don't you advise your daughter to see a couple local divorce lawyers?

She need NOT be concerned about paying out of her pocketbook.

The right lawyer can be funded out of the marital assets, which means the abuser's wallet!

NOTE:

The voice recordings she possesses might best be DELETED and forgotten.

WHY?

California's wiretapping law is a "two-party consent" law. California makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on any confidential communication, including a private conversation or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation. See Cal. Penal Code § 632.

Also, divorce is very easy these days.
You need not prove anything, as in the golden days of old.
If she wants OUT, the other spouse can't deny her the divorce.

 

[adjusterjack]

As things have been escalating she has been voice recording the incidences without his permission.

You must already know that the recordings are useless to her or you wouldn't have used qualifying words in your title "non violent abuse."

Her recording of the conversations is a crime for which she can be prosecuted.

The only exceptions (663.6) specify "domestic violence" not "domestic abuse."

Law section.

California statutes define the two phrases differently. "Domestic violence" requires bodily harm which is apparently not the case here.

She would be well advised to bury those recordings, hire a lawyer, and file for divorce and child support.

 

[justblue]

My daughter has been emotionally abused for a long time, the language he uses is extremely vile and he does it in front of the 7-year-old. Her husband has kicked her out of the house with a 5-month-old baby and a 7-year-old daughter. He has verbally done this and he has texted her telling her to get out. As things have been escalating she has been voice recording the incidences without his permission. My daughter and grandchildren are living with my wife and me
Question;
1.) She has written a transcript of all of the recordings. If he denies in court all of the abuse that she has been taking, can either the recordings or transcripts be allowed in a California courtroom?
2.) She has been told by a friend (Not A Lawyer) that the Judge can listen to the recordings in private, is that correct?

This forum section is the only one that I thought was appropriate as I could not access the Abuse & Domestic Violence forum.

Thank you, Al

Are both children fathered by the husband?

 

[Allan Burnham]

My Daughter has not been physically hurt although he has put his hands on her during an abusive episode. He has stated on the tape that he hopes "someone else beats the living sh%t out of you" He has also threatened my Granddaughter to "beat her ass" if she ever tells Mom anything that he says to her. Both children are fathered by her Husband. Both my Daughter & her Husband have very little assets other than furnishing, cars, the essential things and have almost zero money as they are living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[army judge]

my Daughter & her Husband have very little assets other than furnishing, cars, the essential things and have almost zero money as they are living paycheck to paycheck.

There are agencies that assist battered women, women abused by comments made by their partner/husband, etc...

I suggest you look for any of those agencies in your area.

You need NOT worry or try to qualify HOW abused she has been, she merely must state that she feels threatened and has been verbally abused and threatened.

The agencies that assist ALL battered and abused females will KNOW what she needs to do get legally unshackled from the allegedly abusive, deadbeat male.

 

[justblue]

My Daughter has not been physically hurt although he has put his hands on her during an abusive episode. He has stated on the tape that he hopes "someone else beats the living sh%t out of you" He has also threatened my Granddaughter to "beat her ass" if she ever tells Mom anything that he says to her. Both children are fathered by her Husband. Both my Daughter & her Husband have very little assets other than furnishing, cars, the essential things and have almost zero money as they are living paycheck to paycheck.

She need to file for divorce..if you are able to afford it perhaps you can assist with attorney's fees.

Your daughter also needs to find a good therapist for herself, so she can learn to make better decisions regarding acceptable behavior from a mate. Her eldest child will also need to see a children therapist to help her cope with the abuse she was subjected to.

Domestic Violence Organizations in California - California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

 

[adjusterjack]

My Daughter has not been physically hurt although he has put his hands on her during an abusive episode.

He put his hands on her. That's assault. If she had reported to the police right then and filed for a restraining order immediately she might have gotten permission from the court to record future conversation.

But I'm guessing that she never made any police reports against him so the recording would still be a crime and inadmissable.

Now that she and the children are safe at your house she should file for divorce. It's no fault so the recordings would be irrelevant anyway.

 

[Allan Burnham]

Thank you all for responding!!
It's a tough situation any way you look at it.
I appreciate the advice.
We are making an appointment with an Advocate at Laura's House, an abused woman's support organization.
Thanks again, Al

 

[adjusterjack]

Laura's House appears to provide only minimal legal services:

Legal Services
Provides assistance with restraining orders, court support and monthly legal clinic for free attorney consultations (949) 361-3775.

I suggest that you and your daughter start studying up on the divorce process. The CA court website has comprehensive self-help, forms and instructions:

Divorce or Separation - divorce_or_separation_selfhelp

With limited assets, she might be able to figure out how to do it without an attorney.

 

[justblue]

Thank you all for responding!!
It's a tough situation any way you look at it.
I appreciate the advice.
We are making an appointment with an Advocate at Laura's House, an abused woman's support organization.
Thanks again, Al

Make sure you tell mom to place her 7 year old in therapy.

 

[Zigner]

California counties have procedures for waiving filing fees, etc., for indigent people.

 

[zddoodah]

She has written a transcript of all of the recordings. If he denies in court all of the abuse that she has been taking, can either the recordings or transcripts be allowed in a California courtroom?

Recordings? Yes. Transcripts accompanied by recordings? Probably. Transcripts without recording? No.

She has been told by a friend (Not A Lawyer) that the Judge can listen to the recordings in private, is that correct?

I assume your intent here was to say that this friend told your daughter that it's legal for the judge to do this. If so, the answer is yes, although it depends on the context of whatever is before the court (e.g., trial testimony, pre-trial motion, etc.).

 

[Zigner]

Recordings? Yes.

The recordings were made without the guy's knowledge. CA is a two-party consent state. With anything approaching competent legal representation, how can illegally obtained evidence be admitted in to evidence?

 

[zddoodah]

The recordings were made without the guy's knowledge. CA is a two-party consent state. With anything approaching competent legal representation, how can illegally obtained evidence be admitted in to evidence?

I overlooked the express statement that the recordings were made without permission. That said, while I expect a recording made in violation of PC 632 would be inadmissible in most cases, I'm not prepared (which out doing more case research than I'm going to do for a message board post) to assume that there are no circumstances in which such a recording might be admissible.

 

[Zigner]

I overlooked the express statement that the recordings were made without permission. That said, while I expect a recording made in violation of PC 632 would be inadmissible in most cases, I'm not prepared (which out doing more case research than I'm going to do for a message board post) to assume that there are no circumstances in which such a recording might be admissible.

Fair enough, and I agree. There are circumstances in which the recordings would not be illegal. I am making the assumption that there was an expectation of privacy, and that wasn't really even implied.

 

[leslie82]

My Daughter has not been physically hurt although he has put his hands on her during an abusive episode. He has stated on the tape that he hopes "someone else beats the living sh%t out of you" He has also threatened my Granddaughter to "beat her ass" if she ever tells Mom anything that he says to her. Both children are fathered by her Husband. Both my Daughter & her Husband have very little assets other than furnishing, cars, the essential things and have almost zero money as they are living paycheck to paycheck.

She needs to find a family law attorney. Start out looking for ones that offer free consultations.

I was in an abusive relationship with a meth addict. I filed for divorce but luckily he never showed up for anything so mine was easy.

If she and kids are living with you guys, that's a start. At least she's out of the house. But she needs to file for divorce asap.

Some family law attorneys will work with a person if domestic abuse is involved. Just gotta look...I had one waive a consultation fee when I first looked but I didn't file at the time after I told him about the abuse and violence.