Child custody disputes commonly escalate into litigation and, occasionally, into arrests. Police can arrest a parent for “interfering” with custody under limited circumstances.  Mary Nance (not her real name) learned that police can be quick to arrest on “probable cause”. Nance was arrested for violating her husband’s custody rights on 3/5/16. She was given no opportunity to explain “her side” to the Fort Pierce police officer sent to serve and protect.  Fortunately, Nance’s family retained St Lucie County child custody arrest attorney Jeffrey Garland shortly after the arrest.

Garland’s investigation secured a copy of the alleged custody order. It turned out that the entire custody matter had been dismissed by court order many months before the arrest.  Garland provided a copy of the order of dismissal to the State Attorney’s office for consideration. The State promptly dropped the charge.

Comment From St Lucie County Child Custody Arrest Attorney Jeffrey Garland

This is another example of how investigation wins cases. When a court order is at issue, the first thing to do is review the order and determine if it applies. In this case, the order established actual innocence.