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posted on 10/1/17

Over the next few weeks, we will examine a story that is entirely fictitious. The legal issues presented in this fact patter represent some of the legal inquiries that we receive in our office every day.

The Initial Story

Assume that a middle-aged mother and father, Donna and Charles, along with their 13-year-old daughter with autism, Brianna, share a nice, yet not ostentatious, home in suburban Chicago. One night, the daughter comes home after curfew with her older boyfriend, James, whom her parents — and especially her father — dislike intensely. Donna and Charles are already concerned about the lateness of the hour, and even more concerned when they catch Brianna and her boyfriend in a compromising position. An argument ensues, and after a few minutes, the boyfriend calls 911 because he believes that the yelling is getting out of hand.

A few minutes later, the police arrive. No one is physically hurt, but the police are suspicious of James because he is nervous. After they obtain his permission to search his car, they find some drugs in the trunk. They take the boyfriend into custody and depart.

The Plot Thickens

At this point, Donna and Charles take Brianna inside and ground her. They also confiscate her phone. Immediately thereafter, Brianna disappears. Unbeknownst to Donna and Charles, she has slipped through the bushes towards the neighbor’s house, scratching her face in the process. Fearing that she is now a runaway, Charles calls 911. By the time officers arrive again, the family’s new dog is barking loudly because of all the commotion. The police soon find Brianna and immediately notice the scratch on her face. As the officers know about the previous incident earlier that evening, they immediately assume that Charles, in his anger, assaulted his daughter, and that the act of violence prompted her to leave. Despite his demonstrative protestations of innocence, which the officers interpret as resisting arrest, they take Charles into custody and summon DCFS to investigate the matter as mandatory reporters.

This incident is the final straw for Donna and Charles’s 15-year marriage, which was already on shaky ground. To escape from the growing tension in the house because of the conflict between Brianna and her father, Donna has been drinking moderately and also having an affair with a coworker, moves that enhanced the tension in the house even further. She is the CFO of a major international conglomerate that is based in Chicago and she travels extensively; he is a private tutor who works from home and he is responsible for most household maintenance activities because his wife is frequently out of town, and she also frequently works evenings and weekends. She earns a base salary of $100,000 a year, and with performance bonuses, her compensation could be significantly higher. He reports $25,000 a year to the IRS, but since much of his business is cash only, his compensation could be much higher than that.

What will happen to the marriage, the daughter, and the skulking boyfriend? Tune in to find out!

Count on Experienced Attorneys

Real people have real legal problems. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal law attorney in Schaumburg, contact Glasgow & Olsson.

(image courtesy of Jesse Roberts)