There was insufficient evidence that restraining order requiring father to stay away from mother’s three daughters was necessary where there was no evidence that father harmed minors. After issuing an order for dependency jurisdiction over minors due to domestic violence, the juvenile court issued a restraining order requiring Father to stay away from Mother and her three daughters except during monitored visitation. On appeal, Father challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support the part of the order requiring him to stay away from the minors. He did not challenge the order requiring him to stay away from mother or the family home. The appellate court agreed and reversed. The children stated they wanted visits with Father and were not afraid of him. There were no reports that Father engaged in any violent or inappropriate conduct since the original incident which brought the case into dependency court. The record did not include sufficient evidence supporting the inclusion of the three minor daughters as protected persons under the restraining order.
Case Summaries