Jacksonville Florida's
Chief Circuit Judge Donald Moran Jr.
"THE AREA'S CHIEF JUDGE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER HIS WIFE CALLED POLICE ON MONDAY NIGHT AND ACCUSED HIM OF BEATING HER..."
If you contemplate what this means and watch who's involved, this is perhaps the most frightening of all, because victims risk their lives to make it to the judge, seeking fairness, and right decision. I am contemplating using the word "official battery" for what I see when the entire legal system working as a whole looks more like
Invasion of the Body Snatchers than justice.
And there is nothing in any of the three articles that addresses Mrs. Moran's safey.
Nothing at all.
Gleaned from the articles and bios: ...MORAN IS CURRENTLY SERVING AS THE CHIEF JUDGE OF THE FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT OF FLORIDA, PRESIDING OVER FLORIDA FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, WHICH COVERS DUVAL, CLAY AND NASSAU COUNTIES... HE CHAIRS THE FLORIDA DRUG COURTS STEERING COMMITTEE, IS ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SERVED AS PRESIDENT FOR THE NATIONAL METROPOLITAN COURTS, AND IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFERENCE OF CIRCUIT JUDGES FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA... HE IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COURT BUDGET, JUDICIAL ASSIGNMENTS AND COURTHOUSE RULES... HE WAS AN ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY FROM 1973 TO 1977 AND A COUNTY COURT JUDGE FROM 1977 TO 1983, WHEN HE BECAME A CIRCUIT JUDGE.
...POLICE RESPONDED TO A DOMESTIC BATTERY CALL AT THE HOME OF DONALD MORAN JR...
...MORAN'S WIFE, ELAINA, CALLED OFFICERS TO THEIR HOME MONDAY NIGHT ALLEGING THAT SHE'D BEEN STRUCK BY HER HUSBAND AND WAS BLEEDING BADLY FROM HER MOUTH, THE REPORT SAID...
...OFFICERS FOUND BLOOD IN THE MASTER BATHROOM OF THE HOME, A BROKEN CORDLESS TELEPHONE, AND BLOODY TISSUES ON THE BATHROOM COUNTER...
...THE RESPONDING POLICE OFFICER WROTE: "THE VICTIM'S MOUTH WAS BLOODY AND THE RIGHT SIDE OF HER MOUTH APPEARED TO BE SWOLLEN. I ALSO WITNESSED SPATTERED SPOTS OF BLOOD ON THE VICTIM'S WHITE SHIRT AND ON HER HAIR"...
...POLICE FOUND DROPS OF BLOOD ON A BEDROOM FLOOR AND BATHROOM COUNTER. THEY ALSO FOUND A BROKEN CORDLESS TELEPHONE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN THROWN DURING THE ALTERCATION, THE REPORT SAID...
...SHE REFUSED MEDICAL TREATMENT...
...ELAINA MORAN CALLED POLICE TO THE SAN MARCO HOME SHORTLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT MONDAY AND TOLD THEM HER HUSBAND WAS ALREADY GONE...
...ELINA, TOLD OFFICERS THAT AN ARGUMENT OVER HER HUSBAND'S "ARROGANT ATTITUDE" TURNED PHYSICAL...
...SHE TOLD INVESTIGATING OFFICERS, "SHE WAS ANGRY AND STATING THAT SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS TYPE OF ABUSE." WHEN AN OFFICER ASKED WHAT TYPE OF ABUSE, SHE SAID, "BEING BEATEN BY HER HUSBAND"...
...MORAN SAID SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN DRINKING AND WERE ARGUING OVER A FAMILY MATTER. SHE SAID SHE PUNCHED HER HUSBAND OR THREW SOMETHING AT HIM. SHE SAID HE PUSHED HER BACK, THEN SAID HE ACTUALLY HIT HER AND SEVERAL OF HER TEETH FELT LOOSE...
...DURING THE INTERVIEW, MORAN TOLD POLICE "SHE WAS TOUGH AND SHE KNOWS SHE INSTIGATES MANY OF THEIR FIGHTS, BUT SHE SHOULD NOT BE BEATEN," THE REPORT SAID...
...MORAN'S WIFE TOLD OFFICERS SHE DIDN'T WANT TO PRESS CHARGES AGAINST HER HUSBAND...
...SHE ALSO SAID SHE DIDN'T WANT TO PRESS CHARGES IN THE CASE, SAYING HE WORKED HARD FOR HIS CAREER...
..."THE VICTIM AGAIN STATED THAT SHE DID NOT WANT ANY CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST HER HUSBAND BECAUSE HE WAS A GOOD MAN AND WORKED HARD FOR HIS CAREER"...
...MORAN ALSO TOLD THE OFFICERS SHE CALLED POLICE ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO FOR A SIMILAR INCIDENT...
...WHEN ASKED, ELINA MORAN SAID SHE'D CALLED POLICE BEFORE FOR SIMILAR INCIDENTS...
...MRS. MORAN ALSO TOLD OFFICERS THE TWO HAVE HAD MORE THAN ONE TURBULENT TIME DURING 28 YEARS OF MARRIAGE...
...POLICE SAID THEY HAD NO PREVIOUS REPORTS OF ABUSE INVOLVING THE MORANS...
... POLICE SAID TUESDAY
THEY HAD NO RECORD
OF THAT REPORT...
...MORAN CHANGED HER STORY SEVERAL TIMES AS POLICE QUESTIONED HER, THE REPORT SAID...
...SHE ADMITTED THAT SHE PUNCHED HER HUSBAND,
BUT THENCLAIMS HE BEAT HER IN THE LIVING ROOM, THEN FLED THE HOME...
...SHE SAID THE ARGUMENT OCCURRED IN THE LIVING ROOM
BUT CHANGED THAT LOCATION TO AN UPSTAIRS HALLWAY...
...THE REPORT SAID THAT ELAINA MORAN, 56, WAS ON AN
"EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER" AS POLICE SPOKE WITH HER AND THAT
SHE WAS "UNCOOPERATIVE"......SHE SPOKE ABOUT HOW SHE WAS HEARTBROKEN
AND THAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO KILL MORAN SOMETIMES...
...SHE DESCRIBED HER HUSBAND... AS A GOOD MAN WHO WOULD NEVER HURT ANYONE
BUT ALSO SAID SHE ENDURED ABUSE FROM HIM THROUGHOUT THEIR MARRIAGE...
...MORAN DID NOT WANT TO COMMENT ON THE MATTER. A MAN WHO ANSWERED THE PHONE AT THE MORANS' HOME SAID THE JUDGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE AND HUNG UP...
MORAN'S ATTORNEY, HANK COXE,
"ONE OF THE BEST-KNOWN DEFENSE ATTORNEYS IN JACKSONVILLE AND THE PAST PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA BAR":
..."CHIEF JUDGE MORAN HAS DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG. HE HAS COOPERATED WITH EVERYONE INTERESTED IN HIS COOPERATION. THERE ARE PERSONAL FAMILY ISSUES HE INTENDS TO KEEP WITHIN THE FAMILY"...
..."HE HAS FULLY COOPERATED WITH ANY AGENCY THAT WANTED TO TALK TO HIM, AND IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARE PERSONALLY PRIVATE WITHIN THE FAMILY"...
..."HE IS DISAPPOINTED THAT THIS WHOLE EVENT HAS TAKEN PLACE, BUT HE'LL MOVE ON. HE'S TOUGH, THAT'S WHY HE'S BEEN CHIEF JUDGE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS"...
...HE ALSO SAID
NO CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED,
AND THAT TO HIS KNOWLEDGE THE JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF'S OFFICE WAS NOT CHARGING MORAN WITH A CRIME..
...THE DECISION ON WHETHER THE JUDGE FACES CHARGES ULTIMATELY RESTS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT...
...THE CASE WAS BEING INVESTIGATED BY DETECTIVES WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION UNIT.
[JACKSONVILLE UNDERSHERIFF FRANK] MACKESY SAID WHETHER ANY ARRESTS ARE MADE WILL BE DETERMINED BY POLICE IN CONSULTATION WITH PROSECUTORS. HE SAID
THE CASE WILL NOT RECEIVE
ANY SPECIAL TREATMENT...
"I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT IT COULD POSSIBLY JEOPARDIZE HIS CAREER" JSO [JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF'S OFFICE] CHIEF RICK GRAHAM TOLD CHANNEL 4... HE IS OVERSEEING THE INVESTIGATION...
...HE ALSO CONFIRMED THAT NO CHARGES HAVE BEEN FILED AND SAID THAT
NO ABUSE HAPPENED...
...GRAHAM SAID HE WOULD NOT COMMENT ON ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED BETWEEN MORAN AND HIS WIFE BECAUSE
IT IS BETWEEN THE JUDGE AND HIS WIFE AND NOT FOR PUBLIC DISSEMINATION...
...STATE ATTORNEY HARRY SHORSTEIN SAID HE WAS AWARE OF THE REPORT
BUT
DIDN'T KNOW HOW THE INVESTIGATION WILL BE RESOLVED...
THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SAYS AN ARREST IS STILL POSSIBLE. "IF JUDGE MORAN IS ARRESTED, IT DOESN'T MEAN HE WOULD BE FIRED"...
Sources: I am adding her to my prayers and she wants someone to talk to -
cloud.
New York & Officer Involved Domestic Violence:
Lane & Patty Judson's daughter, Crystal, was fatally shot by her estranged husband, Tacoma Washington's Police Chief David Brame, in a shopping center parking lot. He then turned the gun on himself, with their two young children running to the tragic scene. Since her murder in 2003 Lane has been working to educate others about the dynamics of domestic violence, and to spur policy changes for law enforcement agencies. With impressive support, the Judsons achieved passage of federal legislation in their daughter's name, ear-marking Department of Justice VAWA grant funds for officer-involved domestic violence. Through a mobilized network of action, Washington State law now mandates that each police agency have a specific officer-involved domestic violence policy, and a new one-stop for victims bearing his daughter's name has been opened in Tacoma - The Crystal Judson Family Justice Center. He has appeared on many television broadcasts, including CBS's The Early Show.
