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CIVIL LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS. Rosemary Traub, Attorney New Mexico Legal Aid April, 2014. TINA.
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CIVIL LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS Rosemary Traub, Attorney New Mexico Legal Aid April, 2014
TINA On 11/4/2013 at 8:00 PM Tina & Steve arrived home. Tina’s daughter, Jill, was watching TV. Steve wanted to watch a football game, grabbed the remote & changed the channel. Steve & Jill argued & he called her vulgar names. Tina intervened & told Steve to watch TV in another room. Steve became enraged, grabbed Tina’s arms & pushed her. She fell back into a door & onto floor, hitting her head.
MORE FACTS . . . Tina has Stage 4 cancer and was just released from the hospital on 10/31/2013. She was very tired & weak from her treatment. She has a stint in her right inner forearm, with 2 lines for frequent blood draws & administration of medication. When Steve pushed Tina & she fell, the pic line was partially removed from her arm. This caused her to be in constant pain. Tina was scheduled for surgery to insert a central line into her chest.
THE NEXT DAY . . . Tina told Steve she wanted a divorce & asked him to leave the home. Steve took some personal belongings & left the home. Since leaving, Steve continued to telephone Tina despite her requests to to be left alone. He demanded the bed they shared. She agreed but asked him to give her a week to get a new bed. Steve freaked out & screamed “I’m going to kill you. So help me God I will kill you.” Tina called the police.
AND THE NEXT . . . Steve continued to telephone & threaten Tina. Tina contacted her neighbor, Dave, because she became more afraid of Steve. Dave called & talked with Steve, who admitted that he threatened to kill Tina. Police were called & arrived to investigate. While the police were at Tina’s home, Steve called her. One of the officers talked to Steve, who denied ever pushing or threatening to kill Tina. Steve claimed that a glass fell on Tina’s forearm.
NMFVPA On 11/7/2013 Tina files a Petition for an Order of Protection & a Temporary OFP/Order to Appear is issued. The 10-day hearing is scheduled for 12/5/2013.
What Happened . . . On 12/1/2013, Steve rents another apartment in the same apartment complex. His apartment & the complex mailboxes are within 100 yards of Tina’s apartment.
Metro Court Steve is charged with Battery Against a Household Member & received a Summons to appear in Metropolitan Court. He appeared at arraignment & pled not guilty. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for 2/26/2014.
Separation & Divorce Tina has a limited income, receiving disability of $1,350.00 per month. She pays $325.00 per month for her health insurance coverage. Steve has a gambling problem, which left Tina to pay all bills. One debts she is paying is to IRS. Tina discovered that Steve spent all money donated into a Tina’s Cancer Fund. She cannot afford to hire a divorce attorney.
Violation Of Order On 3/2/2014 Steve approaches Jill in a public place and makes comments to her that cause her to emotionally shut down. Jill tells her mother that he approached her but will not tell her what he said. Jill starts attending counseling.
Service of Process On April 4, 2014, Tina finds out that Steve has been evicted from the apartment complex. She has no idea where he might be living or how to find him. A hearing is scheduled for 4/2/2014 for violation of the Order of Protection.
Is there any relief? In addition to paying her monthly living expenses, Tina has been paying past due income taxes at the rate of $50.00 per month. She has received no contribution from Steve. She can no longer afford to pay this. The April 15th deadline is approaching.
Apartment Problem Tina came home from the NM Cancer Center & found her apartment partially flooded. She reported it to management. They accused her of leaving the bathtub water running while she was gone all day for treatment. They demanded that she pay for all damages. She denied any negligence or wrongdoing. For several reasons, she moved to another apartment complex.
