The Solution: "Till Death Do Us Part"

Child support was ordered to be paid by a judge in the amount of $1,281 beginning on May 15, 2011. The couple had been married since 2004. During the marriage Vashti Seacat had given birth to a son in 2007 and another in 2009.

Vashti Seacat, 34 had filed for divorce from her Brett Seacat, 35 just 16 days before a sudden fire on April 30^th caused heavy damage to the family home. Her husband at the time was employed as a police instructor at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center after a number of years with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department. In the divorce papers a judge ordered Seacat out of the marital home within 24 hours of being served the papers. But he remained in the home despite the order to vacate.

The boys and their father would escape the blaze without injury. Vashti Seacat was not so lucky. She would not die as the result of the fire, but according to the medical examiner a gunshot wound to the head. And the medical examiner was unable to determine whether the wound was self-inflicted because the entry wound was destroyed in the fire. And Brett Seacat would then easily make claims his soon to be ex-wife was “suicidal.”

Last week in court after two long days of testimony of judge decided there was enough to charge the former law enforcement officer with murder. He is being held on $1million dollars bond and the next court date is schedule for January 6, 2012.

Vashti Seacat feared her husband. She feared for her life. Vashti lost her life because she wanted to end the relationship.

Tragically, this is an all too common case ending in murder. Vashti suffered constant abuse including threats to her life at the hands of her estranged husband. Vashti and her fears are now left to “hearsay” statements repeated by friends and relatives in the aftermath of her murder.

What should have happened but did not, Vashti Secat could have prepared the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit or the "EAA" as it is called at either the courthouse, therapist's office, or at a remote location to document the abuse have it witnessed by 2 people then notarized before video taping her words. This would remove "hearsay" and any doubt that she feared for her life.

If you are considering ending a relationship, before you say the words out loud "it's over." Before you go to court and file for a protective order from the courts. And before you see an attorney, prepare the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit. This way your words will count. This way no one can try to claim you killed yourself. This way if you just happen to go missing the evidentiary abuse affidavit will serve as your voice. And the person responsible will be arrested.

Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit For Victims

The Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit

by Susan Murphy Milano

An expert in the area of intimate partner violence and the prevention of homicide, Susan has created specific tools and procedures which the abused need to safely leave a violent relationship.

See example of video affidavit

An “Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit" and video has the additional psychological benefit of being forced to face reality and admit that the potential for the ultimate kind of violence exists…and that if it occurs the perpetrator will be held accountable.

Domestic violence or intimate partner victims now are able to provide information, in their own words, about the fears, dangers, experiences they have had at the hands of their abuser. The" Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit" or "EAA" records victim's stories, histories, and experiences which are preserved and stored on their behalf. These videos will provide answers to the many questions, allegations, and fears that arise when a person has disappeared, gone missing, or been found dead.

Recent cases, such as missing mother Susan Powell of Utah, Renee Pernice of Kansas, Kelly Rothwell of Florida, Jacque Waller of Missouri and women like Stacy Peterson, where the victim’s police officer husband is the person of interest, is the classic example of the benefits of this type of evidence. If Stacy Peterson, or any woman found murdered or is missing, had done an Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit, ON TAPE, from following the information in the “Time’s Up" book ,they would be able to describe:

• threats made against her life or wellbeing, including details of how the perpetrator would carry out the threat
• incidents of past abuse that the victim has endured
• admissions or comments made to her about other victims or people abused
• where evidence or weapons would or could be located
• possible alibis that the perpetrator would make up in his defense (including identification of people who could be co-defendant’s or co-suspects)
• portray visible injuries or marks

Read more here

Purchase Susan Murphy Milano books on escaping domestic violence safely here

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Case concerning the right to confront and prove intent to prevent the witness from testifying

Giles v. California, 554 U.S. 353 (2008)

Facts of the Case

When Dwayne Giles was tried in state court for the murder of his ex- girlfriend, he claimed self-defense. Giles stated that he had heard her vow to hurt him and a friend, and that she had previously shot a man and threatened people with knives. The prosecution then introduced evidence of a conversation between Giles' ex-girlfriend and police in which she claimed that he had assaulted her and threatened to kill her. The district court eventually convicted Giles of murder.

On appeal, Giles argued that use of the police conversation violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him, namely, his deceased ex- girlfriend.

The California Supreme Court held that Giles had waived this right because he was the cause of his ex-girlfriend's absence. Although this exclusion was justified under common law rules of "forfeiture by wrongdoing", the Supreme Court had greatly constrained the admissibility of such evidence in its 2004 holding in Crawford v. Washington. Crawford essentially wiped out the admissibility of such out-of-court statements unless the testimony could be subject to cross-examination at trial, an option that would be impossible under these circumstances. This case gives the Court an opportunity to expand on its decision in Crawford and to apply it to a situation where the wrongdoing that kept the witness from appearing in court was not motivated by a desire to prevent the witness' testimony.

Question
Are a criminal defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment violated when the common law "forfeiture by wrongdoing" doctrine is applied to allow out-of-court statements made by a witness, absent due to the defendant's own conduct, into evidence without giving defendant an opportunity to cross-examine the absent witness?

Conclusion
Yes. In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that the forfeiture by wrongdoing exception only applies to situations where the defendant causes the witness' absence with the intention of preventing that witness from testifying at trial. Without this intention, any act by the defendant making the witness unavailable does not waive that defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront and cross-examine the witness, and therefore any out-of-court statements made by the witness are inadmissible as evidence. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion stressing his belief that statements such as those made by the witness in this case should not implicate the Confrontation Clause at all because the police questioning was not a "formalized dialogue." Justice Samuel Alito also wrote a concurring opinion suggesting that the witness' statements, in his view, did not fall within the Confrontation Clause but noting that neither party had made this argument before the Court. Justice David Souter, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, concurred in all parts of the majority opinion except one section denouncing the dissenting argument. Justice Souter stated that he did not find the dissent as wrongheaded as the majority suggested.

The dissent, written by Justice Stephen Breyer and joined by Justices John Paul Stevens and Anthony Kennedy, argued that a defendant loses his right to confrontation when he makes a witness unavailable due to his own wrongdoing, even if he did not act with the specific intention of preventing her from testifying at trial. Link- http://courtwatchbrevard.org/drupal/?q=node/176

News Sources on the EAA
http://www2.scnow.com/news/grand-strand/2011/nov/15/cell-phone-app-help-domestic-violence-victims-spea-ar-2692274/ (media Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit)

http://www.wgntv.com/news/coverstory/wgntv-evidentiary-abuse-affidavit-new-tool-gives-abused-women-a-voice-in-courtroom-20111109,0,2614298.story (Media on EAA)

http://www.okcfox.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/kokh_vid_4220.shtml (Media on EAA)

Below is the video example of what someone does as they prepare:

Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit by Susan Murphy Milano from the Book "Time's Up" from Courage Network on Vimeo.

Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.

A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community and author.. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace. Host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show,"Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire. Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writesproviding commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime.

Susan can be reached at murphymilano@gmail.com

Topeka Kansas says Domestic Violence is Not A Crime!

It is very dangerous for victims of Intimate Partner Violence to report the crime as the consequences from the perpetrator are even worst than the actual ‘incident’ being charged.

BATTERER RETALIATION. When a Intimate Partner Violence case is pursued, its must be with heavy consequences per the law to the offender, as she (the victim) is at grater risk to her life than she was when the charge was filed.

How a victim is treated usually has little to do with the actual system, but has everything to do with the people who work in the system.

The issue is making sure the judges understand what they should be looking at for evidence in domestic violence cases. How the judge or victims’ rights advocates, police offices or city prosecutors or district attorneys or assistant district attorneys and their staff are educated, and implement those tools to aid victims and insure justice is much more important than which court should have jurisdiction.

Domestic Violence is defined as a “pattern of control’’

1. DV tag law

2. DA has a DV task team that do all the Dv cases.

3. It is extremely rare that a dv charge is ever held at dv usual they are reduced to ‘damage to personal property and disorderly conduct.’ Then it is still a misdemeanor, only after three such convictions does the 4^th time warrant even felony status.

Perhaps with the DV tag law, which will document all the ‘disorderly conducts, damage to personal property with a tag at the bottom showing was in relation to domestic violence—will show that pattern and perhaps then they can change the ‘misdemeanor dv conviction to felony sooner than with the NON attainable 3 DV misdemeanor convictions to the 4^th as a felony.

The County DA’s office must maintain the intimate partner violence cases—or person injury crimes. The DA’s office—the people that bring the crimes to paper, to the system, of charges, and begin the long process of getting it through the system and getting ‘justice’ and consequences for the crime.

The DA works closely with the Secretary of State’s e.g. address confidentiality program for victims of domestic violence, the Attorney General’s office whom also has a Domestic Violence Task team, and the Governor’s Office that provides direct grant funding, specific to ensure and to continue the legal prosecution of offenders, the KCSV provides up to date education, and best practices of understanding, prosecuting, supporting the victims of Domestic Violence and Coercive Control. The DA’s office has made significant advancements in the past 30 years with this heinous crime.

To toss cases to the city will be open season for victims of intimate partner violence that will result in homicide.

The Commissioners want to cut the budget, money, there are many County expenditures that are wasted. There are Court programs that can be cut without threat to public safety. For instance: parenting classes, drug Classes, several of the so called CSO that do noting but ‘busy work’ that cannot be done by the City/municipal court.

But of all the county cuts—the last one would be to cut the DA’s office—the only avenue to even begin to seek justice. For any crime, violent crimes, even violent crimes labeled as ‘just dv”.

Two Judges (and only Judges at Municipal/city Court)

Lloyd C Swartz - A history to include usual district court ‘Case manager’ who blocks access to justice has a history of harming battered mothers. (I myself included)

Vic Miller – 3 supreme court Admonishments for Violations of the Attorney Code of ethics. 1. Incompetence, injury, Mental, to

At one point they were going to ‘disbar’ him, until he hired lawyer John Ambrosia as defense. This hardly ever happens, I have seen attorneys make death threats, physically attack patrons in the court house, accepting bribes and shown evident biased and lack of neutrality—those actions have failed to be admonished by the Disiplinary board let alone make it to actual supreme court public admonishment.

Since last weeks decision to stop prosecuting Domestic Violence in the city limits, there have been 35 Domestic Violence arrests that have walked minus any criminal charges. The City manager is considering a repeal in the City Ordinances that Domestic Violence is not a crime within the city, so that the City Judges and Prosecutors do not have to charge, prosecute and try any Domestic Violence.

This is not acceptable and the Department of Justice needs to step in and mandate changes according to the laws in the State of Kansas.

By: Claudine Dombrowski, National Advocate for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence and Mother's Without Custody

Through organizing globally, Claudine Dombrowski, and others like her who have been battered mothers, not only by an abuser, but battered in the court system, have founded American/Australia Mothers Political Party to bring attention and educate others. Through combining their online efforts across the globe, they are able to link together, not always physically, but by forming groups through the wonders of technology and carrying their message far and wide.

If you would like to schedule Claudine Dombrowski for your next event, please fill out the form below or contact ImaginePublicity at 843.808.0859 or email: contact@imaginepublicity.com

The Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit included in the book "Time's Up" is a Solution

An “Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit" and video has the additional psychological benefit of being forced to face reality and admit that the potential for the ultimate kind of violence exists…and that if it occurs the perpetrator will be held accountable.

The Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit: A Victim’s Voice (c)(TM)(R)

Domestic violence or intimate partner victims now are able to provide information, in their own words, about the fears, dangers, experiences they have had at the hands of their abuser. The" Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit" or "EAA" records victim's stories, histories, and experiences which are preserved and stored on their behalf. These videos will provide answers to the many questions, allegations, and fears that arise when a person has disappeared, gone missing, or been found dead.

In relationships it is important to equip one's self with the proper tools before announcing "it is over." That, is what cost Bea Dickey her life. Unfortunately, hers life mirrors thousand of others across the county, victims of intimate partner violence, trying to break away from their abusive relationships with their lives in tact.

If Beatrice Dickey, or any woman found murdered or is reported missing, had done an Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit, ON TAPE, from following the information in the “Time’s Up" book ,they would be able to describe:

- threats made against her life or wellbeing, including details of how the perpetrator would carry out the threat
- incidents of past abuse that the victim has endured
- admissions or comments made to her about other victims or people abused
- where evidence or weapons would or could be located
- possible alibis that the perpetrator would make up in his defense (including identification of people who could be co-defendant’s or co-suspects)
- portray visible injuries or marks

Just think if we incorporate the only effective plan in the country and have it available for every prosecutor, law enforcement, church, family law office and social service agency across the country, lives would be saved.

Through our corporate and security technology partners we bring the proprietary training to you and your company. And you can now be trained and certified to provide the "EAA" for your clients or within your law enforcement and legal communities or private company. If you are in law enforcement, private investigations, a lawyer practicing in family related matters including custody, a social worker, medical care provider, human resource or are with an employee assistance program or a direct insurer such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Zurich N.A., AIG, Anthem, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, AllState or Travelers.

Below is the video example of what someone does as they prepare:

If you are in a relationship that has a history of violence, simply mustering up the courage to confront the person and say it is over, without the proper tools, can cost you, your life!

Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit by Susan Murphy Milano from the Book "Time's Up"fromCourage Network on Vimeo.

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Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education. She is a specialist with intimate partner violence cases and prevention strategies and high risk cases and available for personal consultations through the Institute. She is also part of the team atManagement Resources Limited of New York.

Susan is the author of "Time's Up: A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships,"Moving out, Moving on, and Defending Out Lives. Susan is the host ofThe Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire.