Court Opinion

ID: 9752268
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 17:53:20.3344+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:44:38.959460
License: Public Domain

Dooley, J.,
dissenting. Although I generally agree with the majority that the evidence in this case is sufficient to support the family court’s order, I part company on the adequacy of the findings. The majority defends the findings as adequate under the circumstances, establishing a rule that essentially eliminates the requirement of findings in abuse prevention cases, because they are inconsistent with a policy of “inexpensive and uncomplicated proceedings that allow an abused family member to obtain immediate relief.” Rapp v. Dimino, 162 Vt. 1, 4, 643 A.2d 835, 837 (1993). Ironically, we are administering in this case one of the few statutes that explicitly requires findings. See 15 V.S.A. § 1103(h); Coates v. Coates, 171 Vt. 519, 521, 769 A.2d 1, 2-3 (2000).
The entire “findings” in this case, written or oral,1 are attached to this .dissent as an appendix. They consist of four checked boxes, to specify which conclusory language from the statute applies. The form tells the family court judge what to do: “Check the applicable box; cross out findings that do not apply” (even these directions weren’t fully followed here). The first two checked boxes state that defendant has abused plaintiff, giving no detail and referring the reader to the statute for a definition of abuse. The third says there is a danger of further abuse, and again gives no detail. The fourth says that defendant represents a credible threat to the physical safety of plaintiff and again does not state why.
Only in the context of a checked box on a form that has that label would anyone describe these conclusory statements as findings. They fail to discharge the court’s duty to “sift the evidence and state the facts.” Lynda Lee Fashions, Inc. v. Sharp Offset Printing, Inc., 134 *11Vt. 167, 170, 352 A.2d 676, 677 (1976). They do not give us the basis for appellate review, Secretary, Agency of Natural Resources v. Irish, 169 Vt. 407, 419, 738 A.2d 571, 580 (1999), because they fail to give us a clear statement of what was decided and how the decision was reached. Gustin v. Gustin, 148 Vt. 563, 565-66, 536 A.2d 933, 935 (1987). As we described a similar conclusory statement in Arnold v. Arnold, 141 Vt. 118, 120, 444 A.2d 890, 892 (1982):
To the extent this statement is a conclusion of law, it is not supported by the findings; considered as a finding of fact, it does not satisfy the purposes of V.R.C.P. 52.
The “findings” in this case fail to say anything specific regarding the evidence the court heard or the parties before it.
In many cases, the absence of real findings is of little consequence; the checked boxes indicate whose version of the facts is believed, and the remedy is relatively standard. Indeed, if defendant had appealed the court’s conclusion that defendant had abused plaintiff, and relief was appropriate, I would hold that any violation of the findings requirement was harmless on the overwhelming evidence present here, at least without a specific request from defendant for findings.
In this case, however, defendant has challenged aspects of the order, arguing that they are unreasonable under the circumstances. I think these cannot be adequately reviewed without some statement of the court’s reasons for imposing them, supported by findings. First, the court imposed a requirement that defendant not be within 1000 feet of plaintiff or her child. Plaintiff requested this restriction. Defendant asked for a three-hundred-foot restriction because an identical restriction was contained in the conditions of release in the related district court criminal case. Although the court acknowledged that it could not impose a distance restriction so great that defendant would not know that he was within the prohibited distance, it ordered the distance restriction sought by plaintiff, and rejected that sought by defendant, with no explanation.2
*12The background behind the order that defendant not possess dangerous weapons was similar. Plaintiff sought the restriction although she testified that she thought that defendant no longer possesses guns, but was not sure. Defendant objected to an order, and defense counsel told the court that he would inform defendant of the federal restriction. Without explanation, the court imposed the restriction in a form too broad to sustain.
Finally, defendant has challenged the length of the order. Up until 1994, abuse prevention orders could be issued with a maximum duration of a year, subject to extension for such additional time as the court found necessary. See 1979, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 1 (adding 15 V.S.A § 1103(b)). An amendment in that year eliminated the durational limit, while still requiring that the order be issued for a “fixed period.” 1993, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), § 2 (codified at 15 V.S.A. § 1103(d)). The order may be modified only based on “a showing of a substantial change in circumstance.” 15 V.S.A. § 1103(d).
We see enough orders of this type to observe that a duration of five years is unusual. In order to protect plaintiff and her child, the order imposes substantial limits on defendant’s mobility. Defendant has lost the right to possess a firearm even for hunting. We should require the court to explain why it imposed an order of this length.
We have often said that we will not speculate on the basis for a challenged court order and must reverse an order unsupported by sufficient findings and conclusions to enable us to know its basis. E.g., Secretary v. Upper Valley Regional Landfill Corp., 167 Vt. 228, 242, 705 A.2d 1001, 1010 (1997) (“We will remand if we are left in a position where we must speculate as to the basis of the decision reached or if a claim has been left unaddressed.”) (citation omitted). We are violating this requirement here. More important, I believe, is that we are accepting in the name of speed and efficiency a practice that undermines the legitimacy of an order that must be respected if it is to be effective. It takes little time to tell defendant directly why his conduct was so outrageous that extraordinary protections are required. Unfortunately, the failure to do so makes the court’s actions appear arbitrary and creates an excuse not to comply voluntarily. I *13believe that under the guise of helping abuse victims, we are actually diminishing the efficacy of orders they must rely on.
Finally, because we are remanding this case in any event, we should give the trial court the opportunity to revisit the distance restriction in light of our decision. Although I agree with the majority that under the court’s order defendant cannot face criminal liability unless he intends to come within 1000 feet of plaintiff, I question whether a floating restriction alone is effective in light of that ruling. The State will have great difficulty proving that defendant’s presence within 1000 feet of plaintiff is intentional, at least unless defendant is fairly close. See State v. Conti, 672 A.2d 885, 887 (R.I. 1996) (State failed to prove violations of no contact order were intentional where defendant greeted abused victim at post office and waved to her as she drove by him). Both the majority and the family court appear to assume that the greater the distance restriction, the greater the security for plaintiff. I question that assumption, especially when we are dealing with distances far greater than those necessary for defendant to see and recognize plaintiff. The trial court gave an illusion of security, not security.
I believe the order could create much greater security, and eliminate defendant’s objection that he cannot comply, if it contained substantial distance restrictions around places where plaintiff lives and works, and around the child’s school, see L. Lerman, A Model State Act: Remedies for Domestic Abuse, 21 Harv. J. on Legis. 61, 106-07 (1984), accompanied by a distance restriction around plaintiff and her child which is smaller and more workable.
For the above reasons, I would remand the restrictions ordered with respect to the distance limits and the possession of weapons, and the five-year duration, for the court to provide findings and reasons to support them. For the reasons stated by the majority, I agree that the dangerous weapon restriction is overbroad and must be modified. I would also remand for the court to consider modifications to the distance restriction as explained above. I am authorized to state that Justice Johnson joins in this dissent.
*14[[Image here]]

 The court made oral “findings,” consistent with, but even more sparse than; the written “findings.”

 The majority states that the trial court explained its decision as the “minimum distance” that would be safe but reasonable for enforcement purposes. 172 Vt. at 6, 769 A.2d at 1296. Apparently, the majority is relying on a statement that the court made to plaintiff in seeking a recommendation for a distance restriction:
I guess I would ask what distance you feel would be safe to ask'— now, please keep in mind that I — we can’t put like one mile because a person doesn’t know when they’re within a mile of someone else, we need to put down a distance that would be safe, but is reasonable for enforcement purposes.
*12Would you like to make a suggestion?
This is not an explanation of the order the court actually issued. Even if it were, the majority embellished it by stating that the court established the minimum safe distance. In fact, the court never used the word “minimum,” and nothing in its statement indicates that it was seeking the “minimum” safe distance.