CHARLOTTE — Domestic violence survivors face challenges trying to protect themselves from their abusers.
Channel 9 reporter Glenn Counts recently looked into a court hearing in which the judge asked a suspect victim an unusual question: “Why wouldn’t a woman tell her accused abused where she is?”
The biggest fear for many victims of domestic violence is that their abuser might find out where they are.
However, Counts discovered that sometimes the system punished women who kept that information to themselves.
On Aug. 19, Judge Tracy Hewett presided over a custody hearing between Joanna Monell and her ex Marlon Hubbard.
The history between Monell and Hubbard includes allegations of domestic violence.
“Day to day is just as it sounds. You take the day for what you can handle for that day,” Monell said in the hearing.
According to Counts, Hubbard took out a domestic violence protective order against his wife for allegedly verbally abusing him, however, that order has since been dismissed.
Monell took out a domestic violence order of protection against Hubbard that is still in effect as of date.
According to Monell’s medical records, she suffered from a traumatic injury to the head, acute facial pain, a facial laceration, and a concussion: “I was punched, kicked, I was on the floor, just completely in a daze, extremely dizzy, bleeding.”
A domestic violence order of protection typically means that the person cited must stay away from the person who filed.
So one can imagine Monell’s surprise when she learned that her ex was going to move into an apartment across the street from her.
“According to the police officers he had just signed a lease there and he had just rented that vehicle. I was like, our life is over. There is no safety here,” Monell said in the hearing.
Monell said she expected the system to ride to her rescue, but she was shocked when the judge seemingly dismissed the violation in the hearing, even suggesting something that many domestic violence victims would find unthinkable.
“And so did you let anyone know that that’s where you were so that he’s not supposed to be around you? Doesn’t he have to know where you are so he can’t be around you?” Hewett said.
Experts say that is the last thing many victims would ever want to do.
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Suzanne Canali, an attorney with Safe Alliance, said she has been helping victims get domestic violence orders for over 10 years.
“Part of our safety planning is oftentimes you don’t want to give the abuser information that they don’t have about where they can find you,” Canali said.
Canali said that while the judge’s statements would appear to be out of bounds, in reality, they were not, and many judges are not in a position to hold accused abusers accountable.
“Let’s say the abuser is going to say, ‘I had no idea where the victim was.’ In order to be criminally liable, the criminal court has to find that they willfully violated the order. So they had knowledge. So that could be hard to prove,” Canali said.
According to Counts, the judge gave Hubbard the final authority regarding his daughter and his attorney said they are contesting the domestic violence order that has been filed against him.
Hubbard and his attorney sent Counts a statement regarding the situation saying:
“At the August 19, 2022 hearing, the judge did what she was asked to do: decide what was in the best interests of the parties’ daughter. After hearing the evidence, which included Dr. Hubbard’s testimony about the fact that he did not intend to rent an apartment near Ms. Monell, the court awarded Dr. Hubbard joint custody of their daughter and final decision-making authority regarding the major decisions in her life. This is a major victory for both Dr. Hubbard and the child. In dealing with this case, Judge Hewett has been, as always, thoughtful and considerate, and has fairly applied the law to the facts of this case. She made the right decision, and we expect to continue to vindicate Dr. Hubbard’s legal interests moving forward.”
Regarding the allegation that Hubbard purposefully moved across the street from his ex, his attorney said he had no idea she lived there.
He said he has not moved into the apartment, has not spent a single night there, and has explored his options for breaking his lease.
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At the hearing, Monell said the situation has affected her children, particularly her 17-year-old son.
“He’s unsure if he can protect me. So we have a 17-year-old that’s taking the place of what a domestic violence order should do for you. It’s really sad,” Monell said.
Channel 9 has reached out to Hewitt for comment on these allegations, however, she has declined to comment on the case.
Safe Alliance said that situations like this can be a loophole after the first time abusers are placed on notice.
As this situation unfolds, there have been major changes in Mecklenburg County that limit the hours a victim can obtain domestic violence protective orders.
Judge Elizabeth Trosh, the chief district court judge, issued an executive order that would stop domestic violence orders from being issued after 10 p.m.
Another change will be that instead of two hearings to get a yearlong order, three hearings will now be required.
Trosh acknowledged that the changes would be a burden to some but said they are necessary to bring Mecklenburg County in compliance with state law.
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