A Missouri choose discovered ‘no sample of home violence’ in Greit’s custody case KCUR 89.3

For nearly two weeks, the only thing known about the decision in the custody court case between former Gov. Eric Greitens and his ex-wife Sheena Greitens was that a Boone County judge had agreed to try it in court bring to Texas.

Assistant District Judge Leslie Schneider has put her decision under a strict seal, restricting access for the Greitens, their attorneys and court staff.

But when it arrived at the district court clerk’s office in Travis County, Texas on Wednesday, it immediately became public.

The much-anticipated part of the ruling was what Schneider would rule on the spousal and child abuse allegations made by Sheena Greitens — which became fodder for an $8 million ad campaign aimed at boosting Eric’s US Senate campaign to torpedo Greiten.

But the unedited version of the 14-page judgment obtained by The Independent Friday devoted just a single paragraph to the allegations.

“The court finds through the overwhelming evidence that there was no pattern of domestic violence on the part of either the mother or father,” Schneider wrote. “The children were never endangered or endangered at the hands of a parent.”

That finding, Eric Greitens wrote in an email to The Independent on Friday night, should clarify whether or not he abused his sons. He accused the media of publishing Sheena Greiten’s allegations under oath.

“That was a lie about me and my boys,” he wrote. “The judge concluded that the children were never at risk or at risk. The only harm to my children, as the verdict makes clear, came from those lies and their promotion by a willing press.”

But Helen Wade, attorney for Sheena Greitens, said her client never alleged a “pattern” of abuse – instead she alleged instances of abuse when Eric Greitens was angry or stressed.

“Dr. Greitens has narrated under oath for a period of time on certain cases that were well documented at the time at third parties and she stands by her affidavits,” Wade said in an email.

Sheena Greitens and Eric Greitens divorced in 2020, two years after he resigned as governor under an agreement to dismiss a felony charge. The divorce was filed in Boone County, where Sheena Greitens lived while she worked on the faculty at the University of Missouri.

Sheena Greitens is now on the faculty at the University of Texas and asked the state’s courts to take over child custody oversight shortly after Eric Greitens announced he was running for Senate in 2021.

Travis County, Texas, Judge Andrew Hathcock said he needed an order from Schneider to take the case.

In her decision, Schneider said she agreed to move the case to Texas because that’s where the children spend most of their time, where they receive their medical care and where it’s the most convenient place. She also cited in several paragraphs the additional protections from public scrutiny provided by Texas law.

“Given that Texas state laws provide for more robust alternative dispute resolution, parenting coordination/facilitation, and the closure or sealing of family court proceedings, the negative allegations made by or between the parties could be made privately, thereby reducing the publicity of a response or eliminated entirely,” Schneider wrote.

In another passage, she cited the concerns of the paramedic — a court-appointed representative for the children — about protecting the children from seeing bad publicity about their family if the case stayed in Missouri.

“She has confirmed that there are more ways in Texas to protect the privacy of the parties and the children,” Schneider wrote, adding that the adjudicator “is not confident that a Missouri court will shield the children from media interest.” can protect Missouri.”

But the Boone County clerk’s letter notifying the Texas court of Schneider’s ruling doesn’t note that it’s not public in Missouri. If it had, Mike Wolff, a former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, said there would have been no impact.

“She can seal anything she wants in Missouri, but she has no authority to seal in Texas,” Wolff said. “If anyone wants it sealed, they have to ask the Texas courts to seal it.”

Sheena Greiten’s attorney in Texas has requested that the case be dropped there, but no trial date has been set.

Because the verdict had not been made public, The Kansas City Star and Associated Press filed motions for intervention to argue that Schneider unseals the seal. The star reported the verdict Thursday after receiving an edited copy, and the AP released a report based on the full verdict, which is available from Travis County.

On Friday, the Star and the AP withdrew their request for intervention, which was scheduled for a hearing on Monday. Schneider has scheduled a “verdict redaction and security level” hearing for September 27 to determine which portions of the verdict, other files and exhibits will be public.

In her ruling, Schneider wrote about the difficulty of directing a case with national attention.

“When judges follow the law in evaluating perceived high-profile, sometimes highly politicized cases, it can present a particular challenge,” Schneider wrote. “When judges follow the law, even against the will of the parties, they have done their job regardless of the location of the particular courthouse.”

Gary Stamper, attorney for Eric Greitens, said the verdict did not please his client’s critics.

“A judge has the authority to render judgment as to where a divorce will be heard, carefully considering how best to serve the parties and children,” he wrote in a statement to The Independent. “The court of public opinion weighs mightily in a hasty judgment with very little information. Nowadays it’s either total support or hate.”

In his email to The Independent, Eric Greitens accused the media of being quick to report the allegations and paying little attention to his side of the story.

“For me, two truths are the most important thing to protect my boys,” Greitens wrote. “First, you know now and always will know that your father loves you with all his heart. Second, you will now graciously learn the truth about these horrible lies that have been told about you and promoted with millions of dollars in media and political ads.”

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news organizations supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence.

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