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JO Thursday, December 4,1997

The Kansas City Star


.... - .•
Commission gets :~~
earful from public:.
on Kansas justice ..'"
By TONY RIZZO
Slaft Wrtter

The applause - or lack of it - I


sununed up the mood of most of I
the 60 or SQ people in tbe room
Wednesday night for a meeting of
the Kansas Justice Commission.
They weren't happy with their
experiences in the Kansas court
system.
Whether they were homeowners
battling builders, domestic abuse
victims or men and women em- uth Shisler, a member of the
broiled in divorce cases, their sto- Johnson County group Citiz~s for
ries drew sometimes enthusiastic Good Judges, read a letter from a
applause. mother who said she was forced by
The judges and lawyers who the court system into a sitWl!ion
spoke were met with silence as they where she could lose custody" of
walked from the podium her daughter or face possible death
r I he 46-member commission is at the hands of the child's abusive
studying the state's judicial system fatber. The mother said court or-
and is supposed to make recom- ders of protection are worthless if
mendations to the Kansas Legisla- judges don't enforce them.
ture before its 1999 session. W 0 ad-
About 30 persons signed up to resse e commission urged
give 5-rninute presentations to the them to do something to provide
commission Wednesday night as betler pay and conditions for court
part of its statewide information- workers who must contend ",ith
gathering effort. ever-increasing numbers of c~
Ten commission members were The commission's en'ort is the
present for the meeting at the first in-depth study of the state's
Johnson County Central Resource court system in more than'.two
Library in Overland Park. decades. The Kansas SUpIeme
Among those speaking was Car- Court ordered the study. .
olyn Hall, who suggested an om- Besides the public comment .ses-
budsman who is not an attorney sions that are being held in each.of
could assist people in the legal sys- the state's congressional districts,
tem. Too often, she said, people the commission will conduct a tele-
feel that justice means "just us phone survey of citizens andwrit-
judges and lawyers." teo survc of state judges. _. \
Hall, with a group known as
Homeowners Against Deficient
cop e a so can send comments
to the Kansas Justice Commission
'.
Dwellislgs,said the court system is .n care of the Docking Institute,
for maily people a "foreign arena ort Hays State University, .6QO
with a foreign language." ark St., Hays, Kan., '67601.
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, unfortunately

through experience and research, I have found that these laws are

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 mos. pregnant, had a shotgun held

to my infant daughter so I could not leave, and many, many other

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 emergency

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 conviction,

1•
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 ~~!y terms, 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.

2.
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 know 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

3.
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 County
District Court
Topeka, KS

ENC: Massachusetts School of Law (article)


Court Order
Court Record of Batterer's conviction,terms of probation

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