She Was a Domestic Abuse Victim. Her Ex Got the Kids

In her mind, Wisconsin mother and domestic abuse victim Julie Valadez was being persistent in standing up for her four children. To a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge, she was uncooperative and unreasonable. According to many advocates at the intersection of domestic abuse and child custody, this is not an unusual scenario. Megan O'Matz writes for ProPublica story that the "case provides a window into the largely unexplored world of family court, the appeals process, and the problems encountered by women who say they’ve been victims of domestic abuse." Judge Michael J. Aprahamian drives much of the story. He described some of Julie Valadez's accusations against Ricardo Valadez as "vindictive and picayune," eventually stripped her of her parenting privileges, and nearly had her jailed when she didn't submit to a psychological exam that her ex was not asked to undergo.

Aprahamian found that Ricardo Valadez "likely would put his children’s interests above his own," despite being an alcoholic with a lengthy arrest record and an active restraining order against him for domestic abuse. After struggling to find adequate legal help and even representing herself at times, Valadez's persistence paid off when she enlisted the help of the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP) and ACLU Wisconsin President William F. Sulton. Several years into her custody battle, she managed to win two appeals, and Aprahamian recently recused himself from her case. But it is not over yet. Julie Valadez is still fighting for children. (Read the full story to find out where things stand now.)