Fayette County
Walker
Fayette County Kentucky
Gains County District Court
Kentucky
Thorton county, Texas
Fayette County District Court
Lake Thorton
Which county and state does Judge Megan Lake Thornton work for?
Two women had returned to men who had been ordered to stay away from them
Obtaining protective orders forbidding their partners from contacting them, then relenting and contacting the men
For returning to men who had been ordered to stay away from them
Two women fighting in court
The men contacting them
The women requested a restraint, and then contacted the men after ignoring the order
Two women both got fined
What prompted Judge Megan Lake Thornton to make the statement: "You can't have it both ways."
To hold two women in contempt of court for returning to men who had been ordered to stay away from them
That these orders are mutually binding
To never speak again
To hold two men in contempt of court for returning to women who had been ordered to stay away from them
Judge thorton
Cindra Walke
The ruling to hold two women in contempt of court for returning to men who had been ordered to stay away from them
What ruling made by Judge Thornton are advocates for battered women planning to appeal?
Protective order
To never speak again
Contempt of court and a $100 and $200 fine
Jail time
Contempt of court
Cited them for contempt
Fined them
What punishment did judge Megan Lake Thornton give to Cindra Walker's clients?
They may have children in common and They may love the partner
School
Financial difficulties
Economic and family dependency
Children in common
Court
Abuse
Finances
Stupidity, sex
Children
Time
What are two of the reasons Sherry Currens gives for people violating protective orders?
The violent arena of domestic abuse litigation has grown a bit more volatile here, now that a judge has decided to hold two women in contempt of court for returning to men who had been ordered to stay away from them. "You can't have it both ways," said Judge Megan Lake Thornton of Fayette County District Court in recently fining two women $100 and $200 respectively for obtaining protective orders forbidding their partners from contacting them, then relenting and contacting the men. Ruling that the order was mutually binding, Judge Thornton also cited the men for contempt. "It drives me nuts when people just decide to do whatever they want," said Judge Thornton, who is experienced in the state's thick domestic abuse docket, which produces close to 30,000 emergency protective orders a year. Kentucky officials say there is a virtual epidemic of abusive relationships in the state. Judge Thornton's ruling has alarmed advocates for battered women, who plan to appeal it. The advocates say the finding goes beyond existing law and is unrealistic because some renewed contacts often prove unavoidable in domestic abuse cases, which involve economic and family dependency and other complications of daily living. The state office on domestic violence has pointedly agreed, warning that the ruling could cause abused women to hesitate in bringing their plight before the courts for fear of being chastised for their trouble. "The reality is it's easy to say they should never have contact," said Sherry Currens, executive director of the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, an advocacy and legal protection group. "But we're talking about people in long-term relationships. They may have children in common. It's pretty hard to say, `Never speak again.' People have financial difficulties. They may love the partner. It's not an easy thing." But Judge Thornton declared in court, "When these orders are entered, you don't just do whatever you damn well please and ignore them." The ruling stunned Cindra Walker, the lawyer for the two women, who is with Central Kentucky Legal Services, which represents many of the thousands of indigent women caught in abusive relationships. "For over five years, I've been in court practically every day on these abuse cases," Ms. Walker said, "and I've never before had a victim threatened with contempt." 