PERJURY: BS-ing the Court, the Frequency of False Allegations, and the Fraudulent Abuse of the Civil Restraining Order

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In the last post, I discussed how lying is generally gotten away with beneath the radar. What people who’ve blessedly had no personal experience with fraudulent abuse of legal process fail to grasp is (1) there’s no incentive to expose untruths except (perhaps) when they’re used to frame people for crimes for which they stand to be convicted, (2) lies are much more commonly used to re-frame the truth into one favorable to the image or malicious intentions of fraudsters than they are to send people to prison, (3) lies don’t have to succeed in false criminal convictions to be damning or ruinous, and (4) lies may be of sorts that are impossible to discredit yet may permanently corrupt the public records and lives of the falsely accused.

Writers, for instance, who confront false allegations of domestic violence don’t actually invite their imaginations to conceive what such false allegations might be. Perhaps they vaguely suppose they’re of this nature: “He beats me with a belt buckle” or “She locks me in the pantry.” False allegations like these may certainly be made, but lies may be much more subtle or vaporous: “I live in a constant state of fear” or “She said she was going to kill me while I sleep.” Is the truth or falsity of these latter claims possible to ascertain? No. Police reports and restraining orders may be based on allegations like these, however, and anyone who imagines maliciously motivated people are incapable of making false statements to this effect have lived enviably sheltered lives.

False claims of stalking are as easily manufactured: “He creeps around my neighborhood late at night” or “She cut me off in traffic, almost running me off the road.” Allegations like these may not only be the substance of false police reports (which may—and do—gnaw at the sanity of their victims) but may be grounds for false restraining orders (which are far more nightmarish). In fact, the latter allegation was the basis of an emergency restraining order reported to this blog, which was petitioned against a college girl, in or just out of her teens, by her female counselor. The girl and her mom had a weekend to prepare her defense, and she wasn’t fully exonerated of her accuser’s litany of “terror-inspiring misconduct” (which included the girl’s greeting her accuser a few times in chance public encounters in a town of 2,000 residents and seeing her at church).

False allegations of sexual harassment? “He‘s repeatedly told me he wants me to [X] him” or “She keeps propositioning me”—try disproving allegations like these, which may be much more explicit and include claims of physical molestation. The consequences, if it’s necessary to enumerate them, could include termination of employment, marital dissolution, peer or social isolation, and the emotional and thus physical decay that accompany each or all. False claims like these, which take mere seconds to articulate, may never be recovered from.

For making such false allegations to the authorities and courts, there are no consequences, except to their victims. There are statutory penalties on the books for making false claims (committing perjury), but they’re rarely if ever enforced and couldn’t be enforced consistently within governmental budgetary constraints, so commonplace is lying. Are such false claims going to end up in some statistical database? Of course not. Ask an honest district attorney, though, why lying isn’t prosecuted, and s/he’ll tell you it’s because lying is an everyday occurrence.

This is the invisible irony that escapes everyone who tackles consideration of rates of false allegations: the fact that lying isn’t prosecuted is the indicator of its rampancy (prosecution of frauds on the police and courts would overwhelm the system). And because lying isn’t prosecuted, it’s in the interest of maintaining the dignity of the legal system and the semblance of just and orderly process that judges not acknowledge even flagrant lies as such. To acknowledge them in all their plenitude, yet not punish them, would be to call into question the legitimacy of the system itself. Restraining order frauds, moreover, may be rewarded with favorable verdicts in spite of lies, making the concealment of those lies by judges that much more urgent.

Society has been conditioned, in the decades since the advent of the restraining order, to be hyper-vigilant and -reactive toward allegations of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual harassment—behaviors associated with male abuse of women, which the restraining order was conceived to curb, if not remedy. These offenses are ones to which the population has been vigorously, even coercively, sensitized. The justice system is consequently poised to descend upon those accused of such behaviors (including women), as is the public poised to believe allegations of such behaviors to be true, especially when validated by the courts.

False accusers are certainly aware of these prejudices and may easily exploit them—and should hardly be expected not to. Agents of the system may, in fact, goad them on, even while salting the wounds of those who report that they’re victims of false allegations by telling them they have no legal recourse (which, practically speaking, they don’t). Judges, furthermore, may scourge such victims in the courtroom based on allegations that their accusers leveled in one-sided, five- or 10-minute auditions.

To recap: Liars aren’t prosecuted, so lies aren’t acknowledged as lies, but the civil procedure that’s most eagerly and impulsively abused by liars, the restraining order process,  is supremely lax, instantly gratifying, and universally promoted. This procedure, what’s more, indelibly fouls a falsely accused defendant’s public record; may deny him or her entitlement to home, children, and property; and may cost him or her, besides, employment and employability in his or her chosen field of endeavor.

If this weren’t infernal enough, the outrage and misery expressed by victims who’ve found themselves in the eye of this perfect storm of unreason, some of whom are left impoverished of everything that gave their lives meaning, are credibly denounced or even mocked as crackpot.

Copyright © 2014 RestrainingOrderAbuse.com

11 thoughts on “PERJURY: BS-ing the Court, the Frequency of False Allegations, and the Fraudulent Abuse of the Civil Restraining Order”

  2. This is a story of false allegations of stalking BY an actual stalker:
    I live next door to an old but spry man who has been harassing my wife, myself and our four young children for a couple years now. We tried to get a restraining order and he perjured himself out of it (he had entered our yard and attacked our children; he and his lawyer told the court under oath there was no way for him to get into our yard; however, there is a *gate* that is less than 10 feet from his side door, which is what he used to get in.) He still watches our house every day, vandalizes our cars, and leers through our side window whenever our young boys try to watch TV. The boys range from 5 to 14 years old. He doesn’t seem to want to bother our 17 year old daughter.

    Incredibly, *he* has now filed a stalking no contact petition against *us* apparently as a ploy to get our attention. Such false allegation have GOT to be criminal!!

    The hearing is in a couple weeks, and I’m bring photos that will clearly expose his prior perjuries (there was a lot of lying, he had a great lawyer).

    What should I do at the hearing to make sure I have a basis for criminal a civil penalties against this lying old goat? Can I get an order against *him* at this hearing?

    Thanks

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    1. This reminds me of a couple stories. Here’s one (the creepy neighbor in this story did the same thing: restraining orders for attention, dozens of police reports, peeping, etc.):

      https://restrainingorderabuse.com/2014/11/15/living-in-the-crosshairs-crackpot-neighbors-false-reports-and-restraining-order-abuse/

      In the second one I’m reminded of, a young girl (20ish) was seeing a counselor in a small town (population 2,000—something like that). The counselor invited the girl to join her church, and the girl subsequently bumped into her in public once or twice and passed her on the road (tiny place on the outskirts of a college). Counselor Wack-a-doodle-doo applies for an emergency protection order, claims the girl threatened her with her vehicle, blah, blah. The girl’s mother (supermom) calls lawyers, writes for advice, reads up on the law, and has the daughter fill out a reciprocal stalking protection order against the counselor, and the girl goes to court with it in her hand, which inspired the counselor’s lawyer to pacify the situation.

      I don’t see why you couldn’t apply for an order during the procedure (or before or after). I would arm the boys with cameras. If you could get a snap or two of this guy pressing his face against the window…that’d be gooood. If he peeps when the boys watch TV, turn the volume up so it gets his attention and photograph or videotape the guy yourself. If you don’t let him see you, you could probably snap or film him again and again over a period of days (in different outfits).

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      1. Thanks so much for your reply, it feels like a weight off my shoulders just to not be alone in this thing. Your ideas are great, and I will see if I can get him!

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    2. Other thoughts:

      1. Could you get photographs and repair estimates on the vandalism to present to the court?

      2. Why not see if the judge would accept testimony from your kids? (I’d be moved by a five-year-old saying the neighbor is scary.)

      3. Obviously photograph the entire property, the gate, etc. Get a satellite photograph to show the relationship of the structures. Take measurements if appropriate. (It’s illegal to trespass on the guy’s property, but you can photograph his property or him from your property. That’s what the law says where I am. You could check with your local PD to confirm what’s okay.)

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  3. Rocket Man

    Well ladies and gentlemen I am a recent victim of false allegations on a TRO, Her first attempt I was able to appear and since her claims were so vague and ambivalent the just dismissed the case against me. However there was a court clerk that told her upstairs to help her complete her fraudulent claim of my harassing her. Keep in mind that I visited her work 1 time, and I called her work 1 time, I emailed her work email 1 time, and I went to her residence without calling first 1 time. Which in her book constituted harassment? Keep in mind that she went to jail for assaulting me, which the DA would not prosecute because they felt they could not win, even with pictures of my face scratched multiple times and not a mark on her, police photographed documented this fact. She had assaulted for heavens sake! Here is the real kicker, I had gone to a relationship counselor about a dozen times to try and figure out a way to make it work with this woman. Let me add her that she is not officially diagnosed as a BPD/NPD suffer, but the only thing she would have to do to remove any and all doubt is either self mutilate or attempt suicide, because every other action that she does matches the traits exactly over a 3+ year period she had said at least 20 times “Never contact me again”! She moved in with me for 3 months (cheaper alternative free rent, food, everything) and only moved out 3 times last one being the day after her arrest. On/Off, In/Out, she could blow past being angry to full blown rage in a nanosecond! Contacted my friends, family, and business associates saying horrible untrue things about me, usually under the influence of excessive amounts of alcohol. She stalked my estranged wife 50 times made up crazy nonsensical conclusions and assertions time and time again The claims she made was fabricated completely without 1 shred of truth in her filing, She has a law degree and turned the TRO filing over to her Attorney friend so they were granted the TRO and a hearing date without any notification to me, wrong since the court knew I had appeared in the past. She claimed I did something to her car causing a flat 60 miles away, but when she told me about it I specifically asked her if she thought I had anything to do with that and she said she was not blaming me but put it in the filing that I did? After granted a TRO she then contacted me, which is ok, but I answered the phone which is NOT ok, what is that crap, the person who is granted one can contact the person she so fears and needs protection, but you can not speak to her, seems like a open season for harassment by the very person who has caused and created this mess. When she contacted me she said it was not about getting back together but to resolve the court TRO situation, ok? She said she was going to withdraw the filing so I believed her and we saw each other and was talking up until 6 days before the hearing when I asked if she had or what she was going to do about the filing, which she said her attorney was out of the country and could not do anything, which I reminded her that she did go to law school and graduated so she should not try and bullshit me that she could not fire her Attorney. Anyway long story is she at that point put caveats on her rescinding the filing which was I had to send her a email stating that I would not contact her again which I did, and she wanted me to repay her for both the bail she paid for calling the cops on herself, and the money she had paid her Attorney friend which I politely refused to help finance my own prosecution. That is the story and the facts are if the person requesting the TRO says and makes up a couple acceptable reasons the court grants these things like it is nothing!!!! There is collateral damage possible if someone were to research your back ground and there should be liability for that act alone, not the mention I have proof that she lied and attested to the court false information. What a messed up deal for the falsely accused it could not be more of a miscarriage of justice possible out there and looks to be on a very regular basis!!! Good luck to all!!!

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