Comments about ‘Protective orders could get easier to lift’

Thank you, Senator McCoy, Ms. Ruzicka, and the members of the legislature who are supporting this bill.

Sadly, for me, this bill comes about three years too late.

The number of provocations by the individual who got the civil stalking injunction against me are too numerous to mention.

Really bad and nasty people use their fists to beat people up.

Really bad cowards use lies told in court get to people beaten up.

The current laws make it way to easy for that to happen in Utah. And when it does, there's almost nothing anyone can do about it.

Don't take my word for it. Talk to the pro bono attorney that just withdrew from my case after investing more than $100,000 worth of work in a case that sits languishing more than a year after being heard on appeal in the Utah Supreme Court.

Without a doubt, the 3-year order will expire before the Supreme Court ever rules on the case.

That's hideously wrong.

Most victims of this kind of "abuse of process" aren't going to be so lucky as to get pro bono help.

In my case, the bad guy won.

I am fourteen years into a protective order issued on hearsay and lies. Ive all but given up trying to have it dismissed; maybe there is some hope. The courts are worthless on administering justice; at least that is my experience. And yes really bad cowards do use lies in court to hurt others.

Senator McCoy, the fact that Gail Ruzika is supporting you should be evidence enough to you that you're making the wrong decision.

Dear Utah Legislators:

Please, before final adoption of this bill, amend it to include civil stalking injunctions, instruments that are just as prone to abuse as protective orders.

2-1/2 years ago, a fellow Republican, angry that I had advocated against his election at a GOP convention, retaliated by obtaining an ex parte civil stalking injunction against me.

He knew that I was a candidate in a still-future convention where I needed a certain percentage of the vote to keep my candidacy alive. And he knew that if he could bar me from attending that convention, there'd be no chance of me advancing to a primary.

His initial motion included the following:

"Petitioner requests an ex parte stalking injunction which would:
... Enjoin the respondent from coming near:
... 3. U of U.
... 4. Republican events.

Other additional relief as follows:

"Blocked from Republican Events such as conventions, central committee meetings, rallys, [sic] blocked from handing out flyers that are not fact based about myself, my wife, or anyone else."

Between Judges Lindberg and Maughan, he basically got both.

Current laws provide no relief against these abuses.

Spare others the decimations that Utah's flawed laws incentivize.

Protective orders are often used as weapons. In fact the 4 or 5 that I have personal knowledge of are all weapons and should be rescinded. This tax funded weapon needs to be fixed. This bill is a good start.

Drew 913-4611

I agree with Drew, and whole heartedly support Sen. Scott McCoy and Gayle Ruzicka in this bill, to add more teeth to an already much to loose system of getting the orders is wrong, and as some of us know the orders can be used for harassment if the judge doesn't do his due diligence before issuing such an order.

We already abuse the rights of non custodial parents - as in fathers who suffer through being forced by legal means, that are enforced by the courts and police to pay their child support, when no help is given to them to enforce visitation! Please do not add insult to injury by allowing a bill to pass without some way to enforce the protection of men who have stalking charges falsely laid out in order for the mother to cause further problems in his maintaining a relationship with his children.

As soon as we were engaged 12 yrs ago, the ex-spouse began usual divorce games of "I-hate-you-don't-leave-me." 1st,discredited Dad to children, neighbors, to justify refusal of visitations & staging fake domestic fights. Next, stalking in our neighborhood, harassing phone calls (on ans. machine).

Judge ordered visitations to start immediately, manipulation/abuse of youngest son, 12, who thought it was all a joke on Dad. After first court-ordered visit, he & mom audio-taped "performance" of him sobbing & accusing abuse, which ex-spouse gave to our lawyer. Our lawyer found 2 PO, all fraud, then couldn't find either. Our lawyer quit, saying he "had to appear in front of this judge after we were long gone and didn't want to fight the ex's lawyer any more." We went pro se. Had world's expert on parental alienation, court counselor agreed with it, then changed to ex's position. 5 kids damaged.

We found the POs. Court called us 3 yrs later to cancel, but needed ex's approval. They're still there 10 yrs. later with no violations, but still on file to be enforced. POs can be WMD.

This should ABSOLUTELY include Stalking injunctions. As someone who had 3, yes 3 criminal stalking counts filed against him falsely (yes, after 2.5 years I finally got my not guilties in a court of law) STILL has an outstanding Stalking injunction out there. The gal who ruined my life and got caught lying on the stand (a felony) I might add is merily still slandering me even after I proved myself as not guilty in a court of law 3 times.

The National Eagle Forum is opposed to Protective Orders as many are falsified and used as weapons against non-custodial parents to prevent them from having a relationship with their children. The State of Utah is archaic in their custody laws, still hanging onto sole custody rulings. 37 States favor and have presumption for Joint Custody, which makes sense.

Gail Ruzicka is finally stepping up to the plate as she has in the past opposed any bill that would assist the non-custodial parent. Thank you Gail and Senator McCoy. Though this falls way short of relieving the "broken system" that we now endure, it is a psoitive step, and there have been few of those.

whatever happened to trial by jury ? Texas claim this is a civil proceeding. your force to attend DV counseling. It is clearly a criminal proceeding. It’s really two years probation they ought to provide an attorney for the accused.

The woman get free representation by the state.
Most of the evidence in Protective order hearings is she say he say ! They are pinning men's back against the wall. By the time the hearing starts you've been kicked out of your house probably lost your job. The states are making things worst. The incidences of DV has not declined