Politics

Issa’s Dem Challenger Allegedly Abused Wife, Wants To Oust Female Judge

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California Democratic House candidate Doug Applegate attempted to prevent a court-ordered psychologist from testifying in his 2004 custody case, accusing her of being impartial due to being a domestic abuse victim, official court documents show.

Applegate — who had a restraining order filed against him by his ex-wife, Priscilla Applegate, for alleged domestic abuse and stalking in 2002 — claimed Dr. Geri Olin, who was assigned to conduct a child custody evaluation, was unable to remain objective since she had filed an “extremely similar” police report to what was seen in the charges made by his ex-wife.

“Douglas argues Dr. Olin’s report and testimony should have been excluded because she concealed evidence that casts doubt on her impartiality,” the court document reads. “He is wrong.”

The court dismissed Applegate’s attempt to change the custody agreement, citing Applegate’s inability to “sustain his burden of proof”  also finding “the credibility of the Respondent was impeached.” Applegate’s testimony claiming ownership of suitable living arrangements for he and his children proved untrue.

Priscilla Applegate’s testimony alleges concerns over the safety of her family after she allegedly received multiple threatening phone calls “telling her he could see what she was doing” and warning that she was “under surveillance.”

“On Sunday morning while I was getting dressed in my bedroom I was very shaken when I suddenly noticed a shadow coming from the window and was shocked to find that it was Respondent who was looking in at me through my window,” the restraining order says. “My bedroom window is located in such a place that you would have to first walk past our front door and around to the back idea that Respondent was even coming over as he didn’t call me to advise me. Notwithstanding, there is no excuse for Respondent to have come to my window and scared me as he did.”

The California Superior Court forced the Applegate to surrender two of his firearms in the wake of the domestic violence accusations.

After the court dismissed his custody request, affirming Olin’s report and testimony were credible, he then attempted to have the female judge assigned to his case removed.

According to the papers challenging Judge Linda Lancet Miller, Applegate said she should be disqualified from presiding over the case based on “evidence” she was incapable of conducting an “unprejudiced hearing.”

Due to the protective order in place, Applegate was unable to appear at depositions, which he claimed undermined his ability to fairly represent himself. The documents show he was provided the opportunity to challenge the stay upon the completion of the evaluation.

President Barack Obama endorsed Applegate earlier this month, who is in a tight race against former House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa.

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