Legal Question in Family Law in New Hampshire
Unsupervised visitation even with a guilty plea of Sexual Assault.
about 10 years ago I lived in NH. I left the state of NH for fear of the safety of myself and my 2 children. Before I moved I pursued charges against my ex husband for sexual assualt in return he filed for custody as leverage. The criminal case concluded prior to the custody case; he plead guilty. I pleaded with the judge to only allow ''Supervised Vistitation'' at the time my children were 5 $ 6 years old and she declined and ordered that my kids fly across country and spend summers and a few weeks throughout the year. My two children are now 14 & 16 and my daughter has recently disclosed to me that she was molested my her dad for the past 10 years. I am obviously pursuing criminal charges in both NH & Utah (as this crime took place in both states). I am very angry at the court for this sloppy and inappropriate order and would like to pursue action against that court. Do I have a case? One of my objectives is to convince the courts to handle such cases with more care and concern for the children they encounter in the future. It wasn't me just throwing around accusations he had just plead guilty to these charges. I belive I would contact the NH State Bar and report as Judicial Miscounduct, is that correct?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Unsupervised visitation even with a guilty plea of Sexual Assault.
Your email did not indicate whether the sexual assault charges against your ex-husband were for sexual assault of you, your daughter, or someone else. If NOT against your daughter, it is unlikely that any action against the judge would be successful. Public employees are protected by the doctrine that one cannot sue the government as long as the official was in the course of official duties. The philosophy is to assure that public employees should not be held in fear or lawsuits when they are performing their duties.
However, if the judge knew that your ex had a history of sexual assault on children, she may have committed malfeasance of office and may -- I repeat may - be liable to some degree. Working through the judicial council and/or bar association would be a proper recourse. You should also talk to a lawyer familiar with NH law and procedure.
Re: Unsupervised visitation even with a guilty plea of Sexual Assault.
I would doubt that there is a legal action against the judge. Judges are given much leeway and discretion. If you believe that the judge erred, then your recourse is to final a complaint against the judge.
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