I was recently watching a hearing in Rhode Island Family Court and thinking to myself either everyone in Divorce Court is a criminal, drug abuser, weirdo and / or maniac or Divorce is often just the silly season. When I got back to my office, I googled the phrase “the Silly Season.” The definition of Silly Season is : “a period marked by frivolous, outlandish, or illogical activity or behavior” (Miriam Webster Online Dictionary)
The Silly Season in Providence Family Court
In a Rhode Island Divorce or Child Custody case everything can be twisted and blown out of proportion. Innocuous jokes and comments can be reconsidered as serious death threats.
Innocuous and humor and marital banter becomes death threat in Providence Family Court
Husband and wife met with an insurance agent 5 years ago. They take out a new life insurance policy and husband jokingly states “okay now we can go Scuba diving.” Wife and husband enjoy a momentary laugh and no one every thinks about the comment again. Fast forward this to 10 years later and Wife testifies that Husband is abusive and she needs a restraining order. Wife cites the life insurance incident to get leverage. Wife testifies that after meeting with the Insurance agent her Husband threatened her life by stating that “I will kill you to get the Insurance money.”
An unseemly divorce hearing
Recently, I saw a unseemly divorce hearing in which wife is alleging that husband wrongfully offered money to his wife in exchange for sexual favors. Husband counter punched by alleging that wife wrongfully demanded payment for sexual favors during the marriage. Both sides are attempting to get leverage by making the other look bad.
In reality, the testimony appears to indicate that this was a joke between the wife and husband in which wife would say “it will cost you if you want ________ ( a sexual favor.) Sadly, these bedroom jokes, innuendos and antics should have never been part of the public record. This dirty laundry should not be aired in public.
When real life jokes turn into ugly accusations, everyone loses.
Both husband and wife seemed to be good law abiding, normal individuals. When real life jokes turn into ugly accusations, everyone loses. However, divorce tends to bring out the worst in everyone and tends to devolve into the silly season. Many of these fabricated allegations have some scintilla of truth to them. By blowing out of proportion real events and comments, the allegations are more difficult for the other party to refute.
Dad and Son are having a playful day at the park while mom is watching. The 4 year old is running away and dad playfully says “im gonna get you” as he makes funny sounds and starts chasing the small child. When dad gets to the small child he pulls the child up and holds him over his head. The child is laughing and having a good old time.
Nasty Custody feud
Fast forward this to a Nasty Custody feud three years later. Mom testifies that father is physically and emotionally abusive to the child. Mom testifies that the father was upset at the child and ran after the minor child and aggressively shook the child, causing the child to cry.She also alleges that this incident hurt the child.
There are many legitimate allegations in Rhode Island Family Court that need to be litigated. However, as a result of all the fabricated and false allegations in RI Family Court, judges look at all allegations skeptically. Judges often look to additional witnesses or other corroborating evidence. Family Court judges look to reports of independent fact finders such as DCYF, the guardian ad-litem or the family service investigation reports.
If you are in need of divorce in Rhode Island then contact a Rhode Island divorce lawyer. A RI divorce attorney will help to protect your legal rights