After a 10-month long legal battle, The Washington Free Beacon finally prevailed this week in its lawsuit to obtain divorce records from Ruben Gallego and his ex-wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. The Gallegos, who had the records sealed when they began the divorce in late 2016, fought the media outlet’s request to open their file, claiming there was personal financial information and information regarding their yet-unborn child in them. However, due to persistent rumors of domestic violence, great interest developed in releasing the file.
The records revealed that the couple avoided a trial by agreeing to terms of a Consent Decree. It stated, “The parties acknowledge and agree that there was no domestic violence during the marriage or that significant domestic violence did not occur.” The judge added to that portion, “The Parenting Plan shall include ‘A statement that there has been no significant history of domestic violence between the parties.’”
A family law attorney told The Arizona Sun Times regarding the language, “If it was a settlement agreement, that’s how people get around there actually being domestic violence that would impact a court’s decision with respect to the kids.”
The attorney described a case where a court found that a woman was raped by her ex-husband, but also found that there was no “substantial” domestic violence.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times
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