Sister arrested for TRO violation.

[Radames_Roldan]

This is in reference to my sister who lives in New York City, NY.

She is in a custody battle for her child due to a pending divorce. He has been abusive towards her. In one of the their fights, she hit him back and left a mark, which he went to the police and had a TRO filed against her prohibiting any contact with him or their child.

Since then, he has called her cell phone a couple times under a blocked number, and due to the nature of her work, she has to answer her phone. When she answered the phone, he acted as if he just wanted her to talk to their child. However, he was taping the phone conversation. He took the tape to the police and had her arrested to violation of the restraining order. This has actually happened twice.

Another time, she had asked if she could run over to the house to pick up her purse and some clothes and he said yes. When she came over, he video taped it and had her arrested for violation.

Is there anything that she can do against this? To start I told her to call her carrier and set her phone to not accept blocked calls. But how can she be arrested for TRO violation when he was the one that called her? I know that NY is a one party consent state and he is within his legal rights to tape a call he consented to, but how can she be arrested for this when he placed the call?

From what I understand, he tapes phone calls he makes to her, phone calls with her friends and family asking after the health of the child, calls with the police, etc. All to be used as evidence against her in the custody case.

Is there anything she can do?

 

[army judge]

Yes, she must obey the restraining order. All she has to do is change her number and don't give it to him.

She also needs a lawyer, brother, to defend her pending violations. Maybe you can help sissy by hiring one for her?

 

[mightymoose]

In one of the their fights, she hit him back and left a mark, which he went to the police and had a TRO filed against her prohibiting any contact with him or their child.

A TRO should only be good for a few weeks at best. It sounds as if this has been going on much longer. Has a permanent order been issued?

Since then, he has called her cell phone a couple times under a blocked number, and due to the nature of her work, she has to answer her phone.

This is not a violation on her part. When he initiates that call then he is helping her defense.

However, he was taping the phone conversation. He took the tape to the police and had her arrested to violation of the restraining order. This has actually happened twice.

The tape would not hold up in court if it was obtained illegally. However, sometimes in a domestic violence case the judge allows the protected party to record phone calls, so this will depend on the court order. However, she was apparently served the order and was aware of the terms, so regardless of the invitation she should have known better. She did something the court told her not to, but if this is all true I suspect the judge will see through the silly games being played. This is a common scenario. They would likely need stronger evidence against her to make the violation hold up, but she exposes herself to arrest every time she accepts these invitations.

Another time, she had asked if she could run over to the house to pick up her purse and some clothes and he said yes. When she came over, he video taped it and had her arrested for violation.

More games being played, but this is entirely her own fault. She was ordered to stay away and make NO contact. She initiated contact to ask to come over, then again violated the order by actually going. The court ordered her to stay away. Her ex does not have authority to overrule that court order.

Is there anything that she can do against this?

For starters, stop violating the order. In regard to the arrests, she should not make any statements and should speak only to her attorney. It is highly unlikely the DA would file the charge without more substance to this, but if she makes incriminating statements or accepts a plea offer, then she just makes it easy for them.

From what I understand, he tapes phone calls he makes to her, phone calls with her friends and family asking after the health of the child, calls with the police, etc. All to be used as evidence against her in the custody case.

The laws regarding the recording of phone calls vary, so a lawyer would have to look at the specifics of the case to determine if there is any wrongdoing on the part of the ex. The ex should NOT be initiating phone calls to your sister though. Doing so pretty much indicates that he does not need the order in place, and your sister can use this argument to have the order lifted.

Is there anything she can do?

Yes, stop talking to him and giving him what he wants.

 

[CdwJava]

And as you were advised on another site, she needs to hang up if he calls her! If the case was made on a recording of a call that he alleged she initiated, then he may have the upper hand initially, but his phone records are not likely to bear out his receipt of such a call. But, if she hung up immediately upon hearing his voice, the state would have a hard time making a case against her because of his actions. If she engages him in discussion or an angry tirade, she plays into his hands.

As NY is a one party state for recording, chances are his recordings are valid.

She has an uphill fight. She is restrained from him and the child, and this implies that dad had some pretty compelling evidence to show the court as to why they should fear her. Additionally, she has a criminal case pending (apparently), and that won't play well for her. She needs to speak to an attorney ASAP and she needs to NOT engage him in any conversation that is not permitted by a court order. She also should not go to his home or business, communicate with him through friends, or do anything that might get her in trouble with the law.