Valadez v. Valadez

Ricardo Valadez (defendant) and Julie Valadez (plaintiff) were married and had four children. After Ricardo was arrested for committing misdemeanor domestic abuse against Julie, Julie filed for divorce and sought a domestic-abuse injunction. Ricardo stipulated, or agreed, to a four-year injunction that prohibited him from contacting Julie or entering the marital home where Julie lived with the children. The trial court issued the stipulated injunction and an order giving Julie temporary sole custody of the children. Ricardo received supervised visitation. In the criminal action, the state eventually reduced Ricardo’s misdemeanor domestic-abuse charge to disorderly conduct, in part because Ricardo completed counseling with Tyler Loomis, a licensed professional counselor. Ricardo pled no contest and was sentenced. The divorce case remained pending. Over Julie’s objection, the court amended the temporary custody order based on a guardian ad litem’s recommendation, giving equal time to Ricardo and Julie. At the divorce trial, Julie argued that Ricardo should not be awarded custody because of his history of domestic abuse against Julie. She claimed that his counseling with Loomis did not rebut the statutory presumption against awarding him custody because Ricardo had failed to prove that the counseling was specific to domestic abuse. The trial court disagreed. It concluded that although Ricardo had engaged in a pattern of domestic violence, the statutory presumption against awarding him custody was rebutted by his successful completion of a functional equivalent of a domestic-abuse-treatment program. The court awarded Ricardo sole legal custody of the children and ordered joint, equal physical custody. Julie appealed.