Thank you for your comments. Most areas of the country have domestic violence shelters and/or hotlines that offer counseling, legal support and often temporary shelter. Try contacting the local social service agencies and/or legal aid for referrals to the shelters/hotlines. They’re out there. Peace to you.

I know a young woman with three children whose husband choked her one night so severely that her 12 year old son called 911. She fled the house before the police came and then tried to get a protective order. She received a temporary order but was not able to get a permanent order because no one thought to order the 911 tape, her word against his, she lost. He then went before a judge (having been coached by his lawyer as to what to say) and was successful in having her committed for 72 hours evaluation. While she was in the hospital he called social services and reported child neglect in the home. When she was released (totally sane) he took her to social services where she was told that if she didn’t sign a Safety Plan they would take her to court and remove the children. She was so upset that she signed the Plan which provided for her to have supervised visits and him to be the primary custodian of their children.

After the social services evaluations, the safety plan was rescinded and it was recommended that the children be returned to their mother. Knowing what social services was doing before the wife, the husband went in to another county and filed for a protection order against her stating that social services viewed her as scitzophrentic (sp), a danger to herself and her children (which was all a lie). He received the protection order, custody of the children and she received supervised visits. That was in 2006.

Today, because of trial postpondments and his manipulation of the legal system, no judge has heard her story, seen her evidence or even listened to the chilling 911 tape.

I’ve followed this woman’s journey through the legal system and it’s pitiful. She barely made it through high school. For eight years she was a stay at home mom. Her kids were her life. Her husband was abusive, physically and mentally, and even wrote her a letter apologizing for the physical abuse. But he was and is smarter than she, he’s a college graduate, a businessman. He knows how to manipulate the legal system to his advantage.

My point is, this woman is one of thousands. I’m sure there is help out there for people like her but where to you find it? Richard Palumbo could change his whole image if he were to make himself available to counsel people who are in situations like Yvette and my friend. Who better to counsel people who can’t afford an attorney but who don’t qualify for legal aid, on how to present their domestic situations to a judge than a former judge?

In my eyes Richard Palumbo should be practicing law, domestic/family law, or at least, consulting in that field.

To lay the blame for this crime at Palumbo’s feet is utterly ridiculous. And he’s not going to get disbarred although he hasn’t actively practiced law for several years. He’s more of a business man I believe.

The least we can do for Yvette is make sure that (1) Dick (the former judge) does not enjoy a lifestyle based on privileges he did not earn as a judge. He should have been prosecuted for gross negligence and failure to perform his duties and denied a state pension (2) there need to be new laws to prevent recurrences of Judicial abuse. Other laws might address the issues of accessable lists of spousal abusers so women can check out the new boyfriend. Prior domestic violence incidents and prior criminal history should be manditory considerations for judges implementing and maintaining protective orders. Judge Palumbo should have jailed Yvettes abuser for simply threatening to set her on fire while under protective orders. Yvette should have access to funds from a victims restitution fund. Victims should never be harassed from their incarcerated abuser. Women should be trained to act defensively. Yvette could have hit the store panic alarm, locked herself in the restroom and called 911 on her cell phone before her abuser got close to her. She was unprepared. Employers should have emergency plans for their employees, including employees who are being harassed by an estranged domestic partner. Attempted murder of a domestic partner who has been placed under protective orders should be a capital offence. This was a premeditated act. The court had placed Yvette under its protection. This crime should have been taken much more seriously. Lets change the laws so we can change the outcomes.