Tag: divorce attorney

Family Law, Free Speech & Insulting a Lawyer

In family law cases, courts can issue injunctions that curb your right to free speech, especially if children are involved but maybe not if you are insulting a lawyer. A recent case out of Michigan asks if the trial court can protect a divorce lawyer against threats from a dissatisfied former client.

Speech Restriction Family Law

Chilling Speech

A former husband was placed on probation after pleading no contest to two violations of a domestic violence injunction that prohibited him from contacting his ex-wife. As a condition of his probation, he was barred from engaging in “any assaultive, abusive, threatening, or intimidating behavior.”

While he was out on probation, the former husband violated his probation because of a series of e-mails he sent over the course of a month to his former attorney who represented him in his divorce and the injunction proceeding.

Cruelly, he called his former lawyer a “pussy” and a “negligent piece of shit,” accusing him of “ignor[ing] child abuse” and owing the former husband money, and finished with a: “Fuck you.”

In his later e-mails, he copied various other people, including the county prosecutor, and referred to his former lawyer as a “fraud” and a “twat,” accused him of breaking the law, and even accused the presiding judge of ignoring evidence of child abuse and parental alienation.

Some of the e-mails included photos, such as a photo of the presiding judge and his family at a judicial investiture and another of the former husband’s children, edited to appear as though they were in a jail cell.

The former lawyer reported the emails to the probation officer, who filed a warrant request alleging a technical probation violation for his “threatening/intimidating behavior”. At the probation violation hearing, the former lawyer testified that the e-mails made him fear for his safety.  He also testified about several telephone calls in which he allegedly threatened him, although he could not recall the substance of those threats.

After the presentation of evidence, the former husband argued that the e-mails were constitutionally protected speech.  The trial court disagreed, finding that he intended to threaten and intimidate his former lawyer, and the speech was not protected under the First Amendment because the language in his e-mails constituted fighting words.  He appeals.

Florida Speech Restrictions to Protect Against Violence

I have written about speech, domestic violence in family law cases before. To state a cause of action for protection against domestic violence in Florida, you must allege sufficient facts demonstrating that you are a victim of domestic violence or have reasonable cause to believe you are in imminent danger of becoming a victim. Domestic violence means, in part, any assault, battery, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury of one family or household member by another family or household member.

An injunction against domestic violence requires malicious harassment that consists at the very least of some threat of imminent violence, which excludes mere uncivil behavior that causes distress or annoyance. Fighting words, or words that would tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace could be actionable but it would depend on the circumstances.

Muffled in the Mitten State

On appeal, the former husband complained the trial court violated his First Amendment rights by finding him guilty of a probation violation based on constitutionally protected speech.

Under the Constitution, protected speech under the First Amendment includes expressions or ideas that the overwhelming majority of people might find distasteful or discomforting.” However, the right to speak freely is not absolute.”

States may restrict certain categories of speech that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. Here, the trial court erred in concluding that the former husband’s speech was not protected by the First Amendment because it was threatening in nature.

The right to free speech does not extend to “true threats,” which are defined as statements in which “the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals.  Excluded from this category are jests, hyperbole, or other statements whose context indicates no real possibility that violence will follow.

To establish a true threat, the State must show that the defendant consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence. The true-threat exception to the First Amendment encompasses only physical threats, and our Supreme Court explicitly declined to extend the exception to encompass nonphysical threats.

The trial court should have assessed whether the former husband intended to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence against the lawyer or whether the purported threats were physical.

Although his e-mails were offensive and inappropriate, they did not express an intent to commit an act of unlawful physical violence.  Accordingly, his speech did not fall within the true-threat exception to the First Amendment. The emails were also not “fighting words,” personally abusive epithets which, when addressed to the ordinary citizen, are, as a matter of common knowledge, inherently likely to provoke violent reaction.

Generally, speech made over the Internet, far removed from any potential violence, is not considered to be inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction. Although the former husband’s language might provoke violence if delivered in person, the fact that it was communicated via e-mail, far removed from any potential violence, renders it unlikely to provoke a violent reaction.

The opinion is here.

Speaking at the Family Courthouse

What an honor to speak at the Family Division Courthouse Lunch & Learn series, co-hosted by Family Court Services and the First Family Law Inn of Court. The discussion, attended by family law attorneys judicial officers, and professionals, was on the new technological changes that impact everyone in family court, in addition to the annual Town Hall presented by the Honorable Judge Scott Bernstein.

Family Law

Family Law Technology

Technology is constantly changing our lives, and may times for the better! The Eleventh Judicial Circuit is rolling out “courtMAP” this month. CourtMap is a new online Management and Access Platform that combines eCourtesy with online scheduling, online notification/confirmation, and allows judges to create and e-File orders. courtMAP also allows parties to self-schedule their case events – motion calendar, special sets, and trials – and attach the documentation previously submitted via eCourtesy.

Family Court Services and Kidside

KidSide, Inc., has been developed to raise and secure funds to provide the best possible services and facilities to the children of Miami-Dade County who have suffered through the conflict of their parents’ divorce or other litigation in the Family and Domestic Violence Courts. By working with Family Court Services, a unit of the Miami-Dade County Eleventh Circuit Court, Family Division, KidSide strives to ensure that the best interests of the children are considered by parents and the Court.

More information about Kidside is available here.

 

Five Ways to Improve Your Divorce

While your performance never faltered before, after you enter into a divorce, you can become overwhelmed by the competition for your attention. Forbes magazine reports on five way to improve your divorce and maintain your productivity.

Improve Divorce

1. Build an emotional support network outside of the office. From both an emotional and a practical standpoint, keeping conversations about your divorce out of the workplace is smart. Of course, you need to talk with those involved in collecting the requisite documents—an HR representative, for example—but those discussions should be factual in nature. Talking about the personal and emotional aspects of your divorce should be reserved for close friends or family members outside of work.

Don’t neglect your need for emotional comfort during this time. Divorce is stressful. In addition to having a strong support network, make sure you hire a lawyer who makes you feel empowered and comfortable, who helps you understand the divorce process and is accessible when you need counsel.

2. Be cooperative and realistic in your efforts to work with the other side. If you or your spouse take positions in your divorce that lead to additional court appearances, your productivity will be affected, because those appearances will take you away from your office. In fact, even preparing the paperwork with your lawyer can take you away from your job for hours at a time. You can minimize this time away by approaching your divorce pragmatically, organizing as much as you can in your off-hours, and being as straightforward and transparent as you can be in terms of the documents and information you produce. If everything becomes a tug of war, with subpoenas being issued and every aspect of the divorce litigated, you will be diverting precious time and energy from your career.

3. Allocate a certain amount of time each day to addressing divorce-related communications. As much as you might like to wait until you get home at night to handle divorce matters, reality sometimes dictates speedier replies. Divorce matters are generally handled during working hours, and if your lawyer has a question or information to share, your delayed response could mean a slowdown in the process. Set aside a block of time during the day when you can read and respond to related emails and place necessary phone calls. Keep a running list of to-do items and questions for your lawyer so that you can jot them down when they occur to you throughout the day and then put them out of your mind until later. Sending your lawyer just one comprehensive email a day with all of your questions and concerns will improve your productivity as well as your lawyer’s (which can also save you money!).

Florida Divorce

I’ve written on various divorce issues. In Florida, a divorce is called a “dissolution of marriage.” Florida is also one of the many states that have abolished fault as a ground for dissolution of marriage.

The only requirement to dissolve a marriage is for one of the parties to prove that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” Either spouse can file for the dissolution of marriage.

Although no-fault divorce is Florida law, the process of going through a divorce can be grueling, and will eat into your productive time. Part of the stress comes from the fact that the divorce process can be very emotional and traumatic for couples as well as their kids.

4. Have separate work and personal email accounts. This is, of course, good advice whether you’re going through a divorce or not. Nothing can distract you faster than seeing personal emails popping into your inbox all day long. In fact, you may even want to create a new account specifically dedicated to divorce correspondence. Then, when “Divorce Management” pops up on your calendar, you can get straight to all divorce-related matters and take care of them during your allotted time slot.

Likewise, keep any divorce-related documents in their own secure folder on your computer so you can access them at a moment’s notice rather than having to spend time hunting them down.

5. Keep your lawyer apprised of any blackout dates on your calendar. If you travel for work or have certain must-attend meetings or events, make sure your lawyer is aware of these as soon as they are scheduled so you can avoid conflicts with any necessary court appearances or other important meetings related to your divorce. Being unable to meet key business obligations can not only set back your productivity but also damage your standing in the eyes of clients, your manager or your peers.

The Forbes article is here.

 

Family Law is Moving!

We’re pleased to announce that, beginning Monday, May 7, 2018, one of Florida’s premier marital and family law firms, the Law Offices of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A., will be starting the workday in our new offices at One Biscayne Tower.

One Biscayne Tower

That’s right, we’re moving around the corner, across the street from Bayfront Park and Biscayne Bay. The new office building is named One Biscayne Tower and the address is:

2 South Biscayne Boulevard

Suite 3400

Miami, FL 33131

One Biscayne Tower is an iconic skyscraper on Biscayne Boulevard across from Bayfront Park. It comprises “Class A” office space and has been a long-standing symbol of the City of Miami.

The building often appears on postcards of the Miami skyline and is a signature building of Miami. Our new offices provide sweeping views of beautiful Biscayne Bay, the park, and bustling downtown Miami.

One Biscayne Tower has won five Office Building of the Year (TOBY) Awards, including the 2007 Miami-Dade TOBY Award and the 2007 BOMA Southern Regional TOBY.

Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A

Specializing in all family law matters both domestically and abroad, our lawyers are experienced in sophisticated marital and family law cases and led by a lawyer who is board-certified in marital and family law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

A “Super Lawyer”, accomplished writer and speaker, Executive Council of the Florida Bar’s Family Law Section, our attorneys and firm have been professionally admired for serving our clients with the utmost skill, discretion and confidentiality in divorces, alimony, child custody and relocation cases, as well as prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.

Our firm website is here.