June 16, 2003

Victim's case divided by three courts

   By Oliver Mackson
   Times Herald-Record
   omackson@th-record.com
   
   Family Court made Nancy Baker cry.
   It made her lose weight.
   Most of all, it made her think a woman would do better on her own than trusting the system.
   Baker's story starts in 2002.
   On the night of Jan. 21, 2002, Baker's 5-foot-10-inch, 220-pound boyfriend grabbed the throat of the petite, 120-pound mother of his child. He pushed her against the wall of their Port Jervis apartment – so hard, according to court papers, the noise could be heard from the apartment next door.
   Baker went to the Port Jervis police. They charged her boyfriend, Jim Wagenhoffer, with second-degree harassment, a violation.
   Wagenhoffer filed an Orange County Family Court petition for custody of their daughter, who is now 6.
   So while Baker was steeling herself to testify against her ex-boyfriend in criminal court, she had to defend her parenting skills in Family Court.
   On Aug. 8, 2002, in Port Jervis, Wagenhoffer was convicted after a nonjury trial. He paid $310 in fines. The judge hit him with a three-year order of protection, meaning that Wagenhoffer has to stay at least 500 feet away from Baker.
   But she still had to face him – and his family – in Family Court.
   Wagenhoffer stared at her all through the Family Court trial. The case dragged on for 11 months because of adjournments. Judge Debra Jenkins-Kiedaisch took note of the way "the father and his witnesses repeatedly denigrated the mother." And the judge said Wagenhoffer's mother was "vindictive and toxic."
   In Family Court, everything is fair game. A judge needs a lot of information to decide what's in the best interest of a child, and Family Court's mission is to do what's in the best interest of a child.
   So Wagenhoffer's lawyer was allowed to ask all kinds of questions of Nancy Baker – including some questions that were off-limits during the criminal trial.
   For instance, Wagenhoffer's lawyer questioned her about allegations of sodomy against her boyfriend, allegations police couldn't substantiate. The lawyer seized upon the fact the allegations were unsubstantiated. He used them to attack Baker's credibility.
   In the end, Jenkins-Kiedaisch awarded Baker custody of her daughter. The father was given visitation rights but also ordered to have a psychological evaluation and go through a program for batterers. Wagenhoffer is appealing the decision.
   Baker doesn't understand why her troubled relationship had to play out in three courts. There was small-claims court in Port Jervis to settle a dispute over property. Then there was the criminal case in City Court. The Family Court case overlapped.
   "It should all be done at once," Baker said. "It's very nerve-racking. It'll eat at you."