Statute of Limitations

[bugatti35]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

Quick summary of my history on this case. From 2008-2012 my ex wife and I fought a hard and difficult custody battle, I had custody of our child for almost 2 years. It almost went to trial but my child was showing effects of the damage the custody battle was taking on him, my marriage to my new wife was also becoming difficult because of this and I was also out of money. My child went back to live with his mother and the case was settled.

Now to my question, in late 2010 my father (who had been assisting me financially with court costs, etc) arrived home from the store with his wife and son, parked his car outside the garage and once he stepped out he was attacked by 2 individuals with masks, they beat him to the ground for 20-45 seconds and then ran off towards a get away car. Nothing was taken from him. He filed a police report. My thoughts were that my ex wife was behind this however no proof was ever found and the assailants got away, furthermore this became a battery charge since no monetary items were taken. Fast forward to today and my ex wife is divorcing her second husband and currently fighting a custody battle with him as well, him and I (as well as his father) have talked about the current issues and I gave them some advice since I had been there before. A month ago they called me stating that inside an old box they found a camera with a memory stick, the contents of which contain a recorded conversation between my ex wife and another person. The conversation is 30 minutes long but to summarize it, she paid this gentleman to hire some guys to beat up my father and hurt me on a future date. My father called the detective that worked his case, he was informed that the statute of limitations had passed and that unfortunately nothing could be done, we reached out to a criminal attorney who said we could sue her but there is no guarantee she'd go to jail. I have thought about writing a blog to expose all this and somehow tarnish her name that would only upset her and we consider her dangerous.

Is there anything we can do bring justice to this case? somehow get this woman in court for this crime?

 

[Zigner]

You have no proof at all that the voice on the stick is the ex. If you accuse her of a crime without proof, you can be opening yourself up to an expensive (and losing) lawsuit.

 

[bugatti35]

I do sir. The conversation is her because they (my ex and the person) identify each other by name, I am also named on the tape. The problem is the age of it all, going on 4 years. Her 2nd ex husband who is fighting her now is filing an evidentiary hearing to show this tape and show that she is dangerous. He is looking for custody and a protection order. It is definatley her.

 

[HighwayMan]

...we reached out to a criminal attorney who said we could sue her but there is no guarantee she'd go to jail.

That's a strange thing for an attorney to say. People who lose lawsuits do not go to jail.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

Quick summary of my history on this case. From 2008-2012 my ex wife and I fought a hard and difficult custody battle, I had custody of our child for almost 2 years. It almost went to trial but my child was showing effects of the damage the custody battle was taking on him, my marriage to my new wife was also becoming difficult because of this and I was also out of money. My child went back to live with his mother and the case was settled.

Now to my question, in late 2010 my father (who had been assisting me financially with court costs, etc) arrived home from the store with his wife and son, parked his car outside the garage and once he stepped out he was attacked by 2 individuals with masks, they beat him to the ground for 20-45 seconds and then ran off towards a get away car. Nothing was taken from him. He filed a police report. My thoughts were that my ex wife was behind this however no proof was ever found and the assailants got away, furthermore this became a battery charge since no monetary items were taken. Fast forward to today and my ex wife is divorcing her second husband and currently fighting a custody battle with him as well, him and I (as well as his father) have talked about the current issues and I gave them some advice since I had been there before. A month ago they called me stating that inside an old box they found a camera with a memory stick, the contents of which contain a recorded conversation between my ex wife and another person. The conversation is 30 minutes long but to summarize it, she paid this gentleman to hire some guys to beat up my father and hurt me on a future date. My father called the detective that worked his case, he was informed that the statute of limitations had passed and that unfortunately nothing could be done, we reached out to a criminal attorney who said we could sue her but there is no guarantee she'd go to jail. I have thought about writing a blog to expose all this and somehow tarnish her name that would only upset her and we consider her dangerous.

Is there anything we can do bring justice to this case? somehow get this woman in court for this crime?

You have 2 years from the date of the assault and/or battery to file a civil action. The criminal attorney you spoke with should have known this. Any legal action your father could have taken against your ex-wife and those who attacked him is now time-barred.

I strongly recommend you do not blog about your ex-wife with the intention of damaging her reputation. For one thing, the writers of these types of blog posts generally come out looking far worse than the subjects of the posts. You, in other words, are more likely to injure your own reputation than you will the reputation of your ex-wife. For another thing, these types of blog posts tend to be lawsuit magnets. Your ex-wife could sue you for defamation and she could win such a suit, depending on the content of your posts. If she has not been convicted of a crime, you should not accuse her of committing one.

If you are still considering legal options, I suggest you review facts with an attorney other than the one you spoke with earlier.

 

[bugatti35]

Thank you all for the quick replies. I spoke to another criminal attorney and he mentioned that we can sue her and you are correct. She would not go to jail however we could make her life difficult but it would cost me.

It has been too long and there seems to be nothing that I can do on this matter. I appreciate the advice about the blog, I will not go that direction. It is unfortunate that this evidence only came to light now and not earlier.

I thank you all for your time and assistance on this matter. If something comes to light I'll update this.

 

[Zigner]

I do sir. The conversation is her because they (my ex and the person) identify each other by name, I am also named on the tape. The problem is the age of it all, going on 4 years. Her 2nd ex husband who is fighting her now is filing an evidentiary hearing to show this tape and show that she is dangerous. He is looking for custody and a protection order. It is definatley her.

And how do you intend to prove that the people on the tape are the people you say they are?

 

[quincy]

you are correct.

Short and sweet.

 

[Zigner]

Furthermore, how do you intend to show the recording was legally obtained?

 

[bugatti35]

Short and sweet.

sorry I hit submit too early on my cell!!

 

[bugatti35]

And how do you intend to prove that the people on the tape are the people you say they are?

Well I'm not an attorney and not an expert on the area but it sounds exactly like her and they're talking to each other by name. Their conversation matches exactly what the report on the attack on my father is so its pretty easy to prove I think. However I may be wrong.

 

[bugatti35]

Furthermore, how do you intend to show the recording was legally obtained?

I do not know. The box was obtained by her ex husband. he said he found it in their garage while moving his things so I'm not sure if that constitutes as being illegal or not.

 

[Proserpina]

I do not know. The box was obtained by her ex husband. he said he found it in their garage while moving his things so I'm not sure if that constitutes as being illegal or not.

I think Zig is going here...

Was this recorded by a third party?

Read here:

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations

 

[quincy]

The following are links to select chapters of Nevada's Revised Statutes on Evidence. You may want to review (or have the soon-to-be ex-husband review) these.

Chapter 48 Admissibility Generally: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-048.html
Chapter 52 Documentary and Other Physical Evidence: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-052.html

The recording will not help your father, because any civil action he might have had is now time-barred. The recording will probably not help your ex-wife's husband, because it will be hard to show relevance.

Have him look at NRS 52.065 in Chapter 52, which can help with identification of the voice or voices on the recording, but have him also look at when evidence is not admissible. I am afraid the recording will not be admitted as evidence in his custody fight.

You are right that it is too bad the recording was not discovered until now. It could have benefited your father after the beating.

Obviously, the second husband should be getting advice from an attorney in his area. I do not see that you or your father can do anything but provide emotional support for him as he goes through his divorce.

 

[LdiJ]

Thank you all for the quick replies. I spoke to another criminal attorney and he mentioned that we can sue her and you are correct. She would not go to jail however we could make her life difficult but it would cost me.

It has been too long and there seems to be nothing that I can do on this matter. I appreciate the advice about the blog, I will not go that direction. It is unfortunate that this evidence only came to light now and not earlier.

I thank you all for your time and assistance on this matter. If something comes to light I'll update this.

You are talking to criminal attorneys about civil matters. They are two separate things.

Its too late for her to be charged criminally.

You have also been told that its past the statute of limitations to sue her civilly.

You don't know if the recording was legally made.

I really think that you should drop the matter at this point. I truly understand how you feel but anything you could attempt to do could also seriously harm you, and would definitely make life more difficult for your child.

Also, getting involved with the other soon to be ex, tends to leave a bad taste in the mouth of the judge. I think that the other ex is treading on thin ice on this one too.