Listen to a Domestic Abuse Case Unfold
Protection from Abuse claims are among the most challenging lawyers, judges and law enforcement officers can face. We can probably all agree on what constitutes abuse and that people shouldn’t have to endure it. But, while that part seems clear, once someone picks up a phone and dials the police, things can get murky fast.
Max Miller is a 37 year old Congressman from Ohio. He’s not high on anyone’s radar except that he did mix it up with former White House communications director Stephanie Grisham while they were an item way back in 2020-2021. Miller moved on to marry the daughter of another Ohio politico. Her name is Emily Moreno. They marry in 2022, sealing the deal at a certain famous golf club in Bedminster, NJ. A baby arrives in 2023 and from there things seem to go awry. Miller files for divorce in 2024. This culminates in a phone call in which Ms. Moreno alleges that Mr. Miller responded to a late night diaper change by pointing a gun at her.
The police interview is available verbatim but the Raw Story article below illustrates what happens in these cases. Imagine being the police operator or the cop on the beat responding to this. You are going to quickly realize that this call involves a member of Congress. Once this hits the police blotter, it’s not likely to go away.
The police officer does a good job of letting the interview play out. Note that even though she is the person calling for protection from abuse, Ms. Moreno answers several seemingly easy questions with “I don’t know.” To some that may seem to reflect that she is clueless or disingenuous. Perhaps, but it’s not that simple. Here’s the published interview.
If you have interviewed a domestic abuse victim, it can be an odd experience. In 1992 I was robbed at gunpoint. I recall the incident pretty clearly even today. But, if the person pointing a gun at you is the same person you promised to cherish forever in 2022 and the father of a child you were changing in the middle of the night, the idea that you were threatened with a gun seems inconceivable. Ironically, people who have endured years of domestic abuse can seem almost too nonchalant when interviewed or testifying. People new to a marriage often can’t believe how fast and how dramatically it all fell apart. It’s doubly frustrating for the cops. “Ma’am, we’re responding to your call. How is it you don’t know?” Here the police officer just let the witness process before circling back to how the gun came to be involved.
The Congressman professes this never occurred. He has guns but they are always locked up. The allegations are a fabrication.
We shall see. But the stakes are high. This may help explain why half of all abuse claims filed in Pennsylvania are either withdrawn or abandoned by non-prosecution when the case is called to trial. People don’t want to believe what they think they saw. Skeptics will contend, those people were looking for a “leg up” in related custody litigation.