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JO Thursday, December 4,1997The Kansas City Star
. . . . -.
C om m ission gets :~~
earful from public:.on Kansas justice ..'"
uth Shisler, a member of theJohnson County group Citiz~s forGood Judges, read a letter from amother who said she was forced bythe court system into a sitWl!ionwhere she could lose custody" of
her daughter or face possible deathat the hands of the child's abusivefatber. The mother said court or-ders of protection are worthless if
judges don't enforce them.W 0ad-
resse e commission urgedthem to do something to providebetler pay and conditions for courtworkers who must contend ",ithever-increasing numbers of c~
The commission's en'ort is thefirst in-depth study of the state's
court system in more than'.twodecades. The Kansas SUpIemeCourt ordered the study. .
Besides the public comment .ses-sions that are being held in each.ofthe state's congressional districts,the commission willconduct a tele-phone survey of citizens andwrit-teo survc of state judges. _.
cop e a so can send commentsto the Kansas Justice Commission.n care of the Docking Institute,
ort Hays State University, .6 Q Oark St., Hays, Kan., '67601.
By TONY RIZZOSlaft W rtter
The applause - or lack of it -sununed up the mood of most ofthe 60 or SQ people in tbe room
Wednesday night for a meeting ofthe Kansas Justice Commission.They weren't happy with their
experiences in the Kansas courtsystem.
Whether they were homeownersbattling builders, domestic abusevic tim s o r m en an d w om en em -
broiled in divorce cases, their sto-ries drew sometimes enthusiasticapplause.
The judges and lawyers whospoke were met with silence as they
walked from the podiumrI h e 46 -m e mb er c om m is si on is
studying the state's judicial systemand is supposed to make recom-mendations to the Kansas Legisla-ture before its 1999 session.
About 30 persons signed up togive 5-rninute presentations to thecommission Wednesday night aspart of its statewide information-gathering effort.
Ten commission members werepresent for the meeting at the
Johnson County Central ResourceLibrary in Overland Park.Among those speaking was Car-
olyn Hall, who suggested an om-budsman who is not an attorneycould assist people in the legal sys-tem. Too often, she said, peoplefeel that justice means "just us
judges and lawyers."Hall, with a group known as
Homeowners Against DeficientDwellislgs,said the court system isfor maily people a "foreign arena
with a foreign language."
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I applaud all efforts to help victims of Domestic Violence,
through hot lines and emergency shelters, and through laws
passed through legislature to empower judges to protect the
victims' of Domestic Violence. However, the judges are the
critical link to enforcing and applying these laws, unfortunate
through experience and research, I have found that these laws a
useless when judges have the power to order anything and the
victim has to have the money to appeal the order. (My last
quote for appeals $10,000.00 plus to appeal this final order.). '. . . . ~
I am a Survivor of Domestic Violence in it's purest form. I
have been thrown through plate glass windows, thrown out of
a moving vehicle when I was 7 m os. pregnant, had a shotgun held
to my infant daughter so I c ould not leave, and many, many othe
incidents which compare to the horror stories of other Survivors
and of those who did not survive.
When I did finally get away, after a two week stay at an emergen
shelter, I located an apartment and moved in with the suitcase
I left with and a pillow and blanket donated by the shelter.
Within one month, I was beaten with a crowbar at my apartment,
which required internal and external stitches to close the head
injury sustained, from my Abuser.
The entire time all of this abuse was happening, the Abuser was
on probation from a prior conviction in 1995 related to abuse
to myself. There are some 12 police reports since that convictio
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Calls for Domestic Disturbances, yet no one cared that he ~as
in violation of probation by having contact with me, let alone
that he was assaulting me again. Once again the paper it was
printed on was worth more than the words printed.
The Abuser was able to get early release from probation, three
months after the crowbar incident, even though he failed to
comply with ~~!yterms, not one, of the probation Order, and
charges were never filed by the D.A. for the assault with the
crowbar.
In an effort to end the Abuse, to save my life and to provide
financial support for my daughter as I have been and remain to date
the sole provider(who will be three in December.) I was given
a court order to relocate in the State from Topeka State Hospital
to Larned State Hospital As I am psychiatric Licensed Practical
Nurse.
Since that time, one year and eight months later my daughter and
I have been free of violence and abuse from the Abuser. However,
the Abuser found another way to continue the abuse, but on a
different level, The Judicial System.
My case has shown that money can buy Justice, unfortunately most
victims do not have the money to keep pounding away through the
Courts until the Batterer gives up. Most victims can not find
Counsel, willing to go the long haul, and most Counsel as well
as the Courts, want to sweep Domestic Violence under the rug,
or worst yet, blame the victim(they provoked it.), therefore
it becomes irrelevant, even ~hen the Batterer has an extensive
criminal record of drugs/alcohol, several Battery convictions
one of which is on a law enforcement officer.
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I have been Ordered by the Court to move back to Topeka, KS
by Jan.l, 1998, or my Abuser will get full custody of my
daughter. When I return to Topeka, if my Motion for Stay is
not granted, or if I can not get the financing for an Appeal,
I k now that I will Die at the hands of my Abuser. The Courts
have effectively put me back into the control of the Abuser.
Is this Justice or Murder?
Every program instituted to get Women and Children out of a
Violent home and into Safety are worthless, even dangerous
when the Judicial System will not support them to remain safe.
Obviously the Courts do not acknowledge the very real danger of
death when the Victim and Abuser are in close proximity.
The message is loud and clear, If you are being Abused at home,
don't leave, or you will lose your children. There is NO safety
beyond the immediate crisis, i.e. shelters. I will lose my
daughter, my career, my home, and eventually my life. I will
lose 1/3 my salary by going to Topeka, and will not be able to
provide adequate housing for my daughter. I am not allowed to
leave the County overnight, thereby effectively isolating me
from all friends and family, and eliminating all my support
systems. Am I supposed to become dependent on the Abuser once
again?
Every exhibit, transcript and all evidence has been filed in the
Court file. All easily accessible. Every Motion to include
non-payment of child support has been dismissed. My Abuser has
never been charged for the "crowbar incident." This man had only
one motive in mind when he hit me in the head with a deadly weapon.
My death. Please help to prosecute any way you can, and let other
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victims of Domestic violence know that the Courts will protect
them, or at least try to protect them, or even acknowledge a
crime has been committed. If it were anyone else, they would
have already been convicted, however, the Courts seem to think
Domestic Violence is like "Spilled milk" when you are married
to the Abuser.
Orders and Probation are worthless when the Courts will not
enforce them. My Abuser is classic textbook batterer.
Women are being punished by the Judicial System because they
they left their Abusers. There are LOTS of us. Listen and see
what is really happening to Victims who need more help than
a hotline, to give them a false sense of safety.
Please feel free to call me at any time. Your assistance and
attention to this matter are GREATLY appreciated!
Sincerely,
Claudine Dombrowski
P.O. Box 304
Larned, KS 67550
W# 316-285-4332
H# 316-982-4524
Case# 96-D-217
Shawnee CountyDistrict CourtTopeka, KS
ENC: Massachusetts School of Law (article)
Court OrderCourt Record of Batterer's conviction,terms of probation