Court Opinion

ID: 9697772
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 19:29:37.107356+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:35.049239
License: Public Domain

FERREN, Associate Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I agree with Judge Steadman’s opinion for the court except for the disposition of the last paragraph. I would reverse and remand for the Intrafamily Branch to reconsider whether, in light of this court’s ruling, Ms. Powell should receive monetary relief for the period October 2, 1986 to January 25, 1987 — the period for which she was not awarded such relief by that branch or by the Domestic Relations Branch.
Despite the passage of time, the trial court after hearing and argument — not this court — should decide in the first instance whether monetary relief is appropriate to help “accomplish an ‘effective resolution’ of the matter of family violence,” ante at 975, that was before the court. It is not clear to me whether the trial court should answer that question as of the time of remand or as of the time the matter was before the Intrafamily Branch. Our decision to affirm, rather than remand, in effect holds as a matter of law that the focus for this purpose must be on the present, not on the past, and that the parties are not entitled to address this issue in the trial court. I think that the question is too complex for such a conclusory — and conclusive — ruling.