Expert: james52144@earthlink.net - 6/25/2006

Question
Hi,
i'm 6 years married.About 2 years ago my husband found a new hobby (alcohol) and invested all money,love and time into it.He would drink every day,every chance he got,he got drunk.He would change in completly different person,everything escalated saturday 3 weeks ago,when he made sure that i know that he is gona kill me and didnt hide this fact even in front of the police.Monday after i went to court to apply for safety order against my husband,got protection order the same day and court hearing is set for 12.september.Order was delivered to my husband when he came drunk from pub at 11.30pm,only 30 minutes later he got arrested for breach of order,spent night in prison cell and was seen by judge the day after and was issued with interim baring order till the court case.He is staying with his mother and never stop calling me,to take it back,that he will change etc.
After 2 years of abuse,breaking stuff,intimidation,choking,threads, he even killed my dog.But i still feel guilt,but i'm  detirment to go through with this to the end.
As i dont have any knowlige about courts,when my hearing comes,what is the questions the judge gona ask me,any answer would be very helpfull

Answer
Dear Tania:

The hearing should not take long, although you may have to wait for your case to be called to be heard. You will probably see that there are many women like you who have to get orders to keep violence away from them. The Judge will simply ask you to explain what happened. If your husband shows up, he has the right to ask you questions. Given your story, I don't see any reason to be worried about your case. I strongly recommend that you attend some meetings of Alanon, which are support groups for spouses, families or friends of alcoholics. I think you would enjoy it.

Good luck