DV Courts sees huge case increase (Naples, Florida)

Domestic Violence Court sees huge case increase since Damas family slayings
Judge: 'It’s an intense court because there’s a lot at stake'
By AISLING SWIFT

Saturday, October 10, 2009

NAPLES — Joanna Garcia’s two daughters sobbed as they told a judge that their father loses his temper, smashes their cell phones and computer, hits them and withholds tampons, food, friends and calls to their mother as a form of discipline.

“He took my shoe off and hit me repeatedly,” 15-year-old Jamie cried during a Domestic Violence Court hearing. “... He threw me and I hit the wall and the sewing machine fell over. ... He’s kicked the door down and chased me around the house, threatening me.”

Twelve-year-old Haley sobbed as she described him taking her cell phone as she tried to call her mother. “He threw me in the bathroom and hurt my back,” Haley cried, her shoulders shaking.

Their mother detailed five years of continuous harassment, anger and fear, while two witnesses described seeing the violence.

Sovia Burt-Saint Fleur alleged her husband, Johnson, 39, moved out of his home to live with a girlfriend, but returned and dragged her from room to room before ripping off her clothes to have sex with her after she refused.

“He always told me I can’t meet his needs and I need to get out,” 38-year-old Burt-Saint Fleur testified.

Two compelling stories. Two different outcomes.

Garcia and her daughters were granted a final order of protection, but Burt-Saint Fleur’s temporary order was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

“I do find the respondent’s testimony is more credible,” Collier Circuit Judge Elizabeth Krier said of Johnson Saint Fleur.

Garcia was temporarily granted full custody until the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigates and a dependency or family court judge makes another ruling.

But Krier allowed Sovia Burt-Saint Fleur to remain in her husband’s home and told the couple to address their concerns in divorce or family court.

Such are the cases heard each Thursday in courtroom 2B, Domestic Violence Court, where Krier must carefully review allegations in each court file, as well as testimony and arguments.

Petitioners have to prove their allegations beyond a preponderance of a doubt, a lesser standard than criminal court. So if one side proves its case by 51 percent, that tips the scales.

Some accounts are credible, while others are not.

“It’s very important to listen to both sides carefully,” Krier said in a telephone interview, adding, however, “There’s no way of knowing whether people are telling you everything.”

Garcia’s and Saint Fleur’s cases were among 42 heard in the two weeks following the brutal slayings of Guerline Dieu Damas, 32, and her children: Meshach “Zack,” 9, Marven, 6, Maven, 5, Megan, 3, and Morgan, 19 months. Their bodies were found in their Naples home Sept. 19, stabbed and their throats slashed. Damas’ husband, Mesac, 33, is being held without bond in Collier County jail, charged with six counts of premeditated murder. The Damases had been to Domestic Violence Court on three different occasions.

The brutal killings prompted national headlines and TV reports, ending in victims of violence seeking protection instead of hoping abuse would end.

“The injunctions have doubled,” Krier said of her impression of the pile of applications filed the two weeks after the slayings. “I’ve gotten a lot more. ... I’m also noticing the number of hearings I’ve been doing has gone up, so they’re more contentious.”

It’s a court filled with emotion, a court where outbursts are common, tears are shed and some petitioners are escorted out for their own protection. Some are brought straight to The Shelter for Abused Women & Children in Naples.

The shelter also saw an increase after the slayings, with relatives seeking help for loved ones, followed by a spike in hotline calls.

“We now have a full house in our shelter,” said Linda Oberhaus, the shelter director. “This is the largest group we’ve had since we opened. We don’t turn anyone away. The priority is to help these families be safe.”

Domestic Violence Court was shared by three criminal judges, but a few months ago, it became Krier’s job. Some call it “The Naples Jerry Springer Show,” but Krier, with 20 years of family law experience, is accustomed to listening to emotional allegations.

“It’s an intense court because there’s a lot at stake,” Krier said. “But it’s an important court because it’s one of those courts where you provide a service, not just injunctions. I feel like I’m helping both sides. We have a lot of capabilities in that court.”

Occasionally, there is humor. One man was accused of stalking an ex-girlfriend, repeatedly phoning her and delivering flowers on her birthday. When Krier ordered him to take batterer’s classes, he told her he’d already taken the class twice.

“Why take it again if it hasn’t helped me yet?” he asked.

“That’s a point,” Krier replied.

Many are tearful when they leave. Others are angry. And despite Bailiff Stephen Smith’s and Krier’s strict regulations, outbursts do erupt.

As the doors were being locked on Oct. 8, two women were thrown in jail after a loud fight in the hallway that ended in a bloody scratch to a bailiff’s arm. He was among a dozen deputies who swarmed the hallway after hearing yelling and a loud crash.

When an ex-wife pregnant with her fiance’s child cried as she described her ex-husband stalking her, chasing and tailgating her car, Krier granted a final order of protection after her ex testified he wasn’t paying attention and must have gotten too close.

After former gay lovers alleged harassment, threatening text messages and beatings, Krier granted the petitioner a short, 30-day injunction. That was because his ex-boyfriend testified he’d been beaten, feared his former lover, had moved out and changed his phone number.

Krier listened as a father accused his baby’s mother of molesting his son 15 or 20 times, trying to smother him with a pillow, smacking him five times, and teaching him to French kiss.

“These are serious allegations, whether they happened this month or within a year,” Krier said after the mother’s attorney questioned why the father hadn’t called DCF during three years he alleged abuse and suggested he’d applied for an order when the baby’s mother sought custody.

But the mother’s pauses after being asked if the allegations were true were noticeably long. And she admitted some acts. “Like any mother, I would kiss him all over ... but I would never do anything that would affect him.”

In the cases heard over the past two weeks, some feared the Damas family killings would prompt a more cautionary approach in court.

Attorney David McElrath, who represented Johnson Saint Fleur, left the courthouse with a relieved client.

“I was concerned that this tragedy would result in a huge amount of precautionary measures being taken — i.e. granting marginally based requests — and judges would err on the side of caution,” McElrath said. “It’s a shame we had to be there. Unfortunately, people sometimes manipulate the system.”

Saint Fleur denied the allegations, testifying he was asleep in his father’s home. McElrath also provided testimony from Saint Fleur’s father, who said his son was in bed at 5 a.m. after working two jobs, and showed Saint Fleur’s wife applied for an injunction just days after her husband filed for divorce.

“It certainly seems retaliatory by her,” McElrath said afterward, adding that Saint Fleur, who is Haitian, married a woman with one child, but soon learned she had six more she wanted to bring over from Jamaica.

In contrast, Louis Erickson, who represented Garcia’s ex-husband, Fred Elias Jr., called Krier’s ruling in Garcia’s case “extreme.”

“Maybe it was because of the Damas case,” Erickson said. “I always tell my clients that if there’s a high-profile domestic violence case in the paper, this is the wrong time to come in.”

Elias said afterward that he tries to discipline his daughters, who have no rules at their mother’s home, and he helps out if they need him. “I’m the bad guy,” Elias added, shaking his head in disbelief after denying the allegations.