Today at 1:30pm, FVAP’s pro bono co-counsel from Wilmer Hale, Thomas Sprankling, will be arguing before the First District Court of Appeal, Division Two, where we, along with Bay Area Legal Aid, are representing a survivor of abuse appealing a dangerous child custody order.
In this case, after giving the survivor a three-year domestic violence restraining order and sole legal and physical custody, the trial court effectively granted the abusive parent joint physical custody by basically ordering 50/50 visitation, without applying the law presuming that is bad for children, found in Family Code section 3044. The trial court also failed to issue a statement of decision upon the request of the survivor’s attorney, despite Family Code section 3022.3.
We hope that today’s outcome will land in favor of the survivor.
