Hicks v. Hicks
Court of Appeals of Louisiana
733 So. 2d 1261 (1999)
- Written by Brittany Frankel, JD
Facts
Teresa Hicks (plaintiff) and David Hicks (defendant) were the divorced parents of three children. As part of the divorce decree, the court ordered that David would be the primary custodial parent during the school year, and Teresa would be the custodial parent during the summer. Louisiana has a state statute that presumes that a parent who has a history of committing domestic violence would not be granted sole or joint custody. Domestic violence must be shown by a preponderance of the evidence. The parent that has committed the domestic violence must show that he or she has successfully completed a treatment program. Teresa presented evidence that David had committed domestic violence, and David did not refute that he had hit her during pregnancy, which caused her to suffer miscarriages. David also admitted to having committed other violent acts and having forced Teresa to have sex with him against her wishes on multiple occasions. Despite this evidence, the trial court did not apply the presumption against David having custody. Teresa appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Woodard, J.)
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