Keys judge wants a woman’s dating history to help resolve a domestic violence case
A Key West woman says her ex-boyfriend attacked her in 2018 by holding her down and biting her neck.
But a Florida Keys court may hear more than Joann Scurfield’s testimony about the alleged misdemeanor domestic battery.
Scurfield may have to make a list of all the people she has dated over the past decade and submit it to the court to appease a Monroe County judge.
Bradley Thomas McBride’s defense attorney asked the judge for help in getting Scurfield to answer questions about her past but didn’t specifically ask for 10 years worth of dating history.
The judge crafted her own order, though.
Monroe County Judge Peary Fowler’s call for the list has drawn criticism from the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Fowler’s order also asks for a way to contact everyone Scurfield has dated over the past 10 years.
If Scurfield doesn’t want to make the list, Fowler said, she can sit for another deposition.
The Monroe County State Attorney’s Office has appealed Fowler’s ruling to the 16th Judicial Circuit Court, saying Scurfield, as a crime victim, has a constitutional right “to be free from intimidation, harassment and abuse.”
Assistant State Attorney Cristy Spottswood said they are trying to protect Scurfield.
“It is important to protect all victims of domestic abuse from further victimization during pre-trial proceedings,” Spottswood said in a statement. “We do not want to move backwards.”
Keys Circuit Court Judge Timothy Koenig will review the order after a hearing that is set for Dec. 6 at the Monroe County Courthouse.
“Judge Fowler’s ruling is uncalled for and out of line,” said Florida NOW President Kim Porteous and Key West NOW Vice President Christine Thompson in a statement.
“It sets the standard of re-victimizing a person who reports abuse,” the women said. “This ruling will set a dangerous precedent, ultimately stifling victims of abuse from seeking justice.”
If upheld, the ruling would only discourage victims from coming forward, NOW said.
McBride, 38, has a right to the dating history because Scurfield refused to answer questions about her past during a deposition, said the defense attorney, Hal Schuhmacher.
The defense deserves to know her past romantic partners so they can interview them to see if she has ever accused them of domestic battery, Schuhmacher said.
“The idea was what type of prior relationships did she have?” Schuhmacher said. “Did she make a false allegation about somebody else? Has she been convicted of perjury? Is this what she does when somebody breaks up with her? A woman scorned kind of thing.”
Efforts to reach Scurfield were unsuccessful. McBride has been released on bond.
During the deposition, Schuhmacher asked Scurfield if any other boyfriends had abused her. She named one man who had “yelled” at her about 10 years ago, but Schuhmacher wanted the names of more boyfriends.
Police said the attack happened before 2 a.m. Jan. 19, 2018, at Scurfield’s home in Old Town Key West.
The couple were together for two years but had been broken up for a month when, according to Scurfield, McBride showed up at the home and attacked her. He only got off of her when she said she was calling the police, she said.
Scurfield was found by officers “visibly upset and crying,” with teeth marks on the left side of her neck surrounded by a red mark about the size of a person’s mouth, according to the arrest warrant.
Shad Neiss, an attorney for the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, says Judge Fowler’s order reflects a troubling precedent that could stop victims from reporting abuse for fear that “years of personal details” will fall into the hands of their abusers.
“The policies protecting the privacy of crime victims should be respected,” Neiss wrote in a brief in support of the prosecution’s appeal.
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 5:17 PM.
%20Cropped%20(1).jpg)