Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, TRAFFORD-SEABRA
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Rhode Island |
| Writing for the Court | SHEA |
| Citation | 655 A.2d 250 |
| Decision Date | 01 March 1995 |
| Docket Number | TRAFFORD-SEABRA |
| Parties | James SEABRA v. Patricia 93-626-A. |
Page 250
v.
Patricia TRAFFORD-SEABRA.
Louis M. Pulner, Providence, for plaintiff.
Walter R. Stone, Adler, Pollock & Sheehan, Providence, for defendant.
SHEA, Justice.
This case is on appeal from a decree of the Family Court granting joint custody of the minor child of the parties to the plaintiff, James Seabra and the defendant, Patricia Trafford-Seabra. The defendant appeals on the grounds that joint custody of the minor child is not in the best interests of the child. For the following reasons, we affirm the award of joint custody.
The facts pertinent to this appeal are as follows. On May 25, 1986, James Seabra (James) and Patricia Trafford-Seabra (Patricia)
Page 251
were married. On March 12, 1987, their only child, a son named Victor was born. 1 In December of 1989, after many years of an unsettled relationship and periods of living apart, James filed a complaint for divorce, seeking custody and visitation of Victor. Patricia subsequently filed a counterclaim for divorce also seeking custody of Victor.On April 13, 1990, the trial justice issued a temporary order awarding Patricia sole custody of Victor. James was originally granted visitation rights of three times a week. On July 2, 1990, that visitation schedule was modified to include overnight visitation every Saturday morning through Sunday morning.
In September of 1990, during a period in which James was allowed unsupervised overnight visits with Victor, Patricia noticed small bruises on Victor's penis. On September 17, 1990, Patricia brought Victor to his pediatrician, Domenic Indindoli, M.D. Doctor Indindoli examined Victor and found evidence of a rash in the genital area that he diagnosed as petechia, minor hemorrhages in the capillaries in the surface of the skin. Doctor Indindoli concluded that petechia could be and is possibly consistent with sexual abuse. Patricia brought Victor to see her sister, Jean Trafford, a Providence police officer. Based on Victor's statement that he received the "boo-boo" on his penis from his paternal grandmother (Dolores Case), and the presence of petechia on Victor's penis, Patricia and Jean Trafford brought Victor to the North Providence Police Station where he repeated his allegations against his grandmother. When Patricia contacted Dr. Indindoli about the abuse allegations, he filed a physician's report with the Department for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), which is a standard practice if a mother alleges sexual abuse.
The allegations were investigated on two separate occasions by DCYF, and both investigations indicated findings of abuse by Victor's grandmother and neglect on the part of James for failing to supervise Victor during the visitations in which the alleged abuse occurred. Also, Victor indicated to Patricia that James had "hit his penis." At the urging of DCYF investigator, Michael Bousquet, Patricia brought Victor for an evaluation by a psychotherapist who is a certified independent social worker with specialization in the area of sexual trauma, sexual victimization and sexual abuse treatment and assessment. On the basis of eight sessions, the psychotherapist recommended that James's visitation rights be suspended due to his finding that Victor's reports of sexual abuse were true.
At the same time, the trial justice ordered Victor to undergo evaluation by a clinical psychologist, Brian Hayden, Ph.D. Doctor Hayden met with Victor, James, and Patricia and found that Patricia's anxiety level and emotional problems deserved further evaluation. He suggested that at no time should Victor's grandmother be the sole custodial adult for Victor due to her history of emotional instability and alcohol abuse. He also concluded that overnight visitation with James would be suitable for Victor because there was no actual evidence of sexual abuse.
In the following months the...
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State v. Lynch, No. 1999-327-C.A.
...witness must be able to "observe, recollect, communicate, and appreciate the necessity of telling the truth." Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 (R.I.1995) (citing State v. Cabral, 122 R.I. 623, 629, 410 A.2d 438, 442 (1980)). This Court will overturn a competency decision only fo......
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State v. Lynch, No. 1999-327-C.A. (K1/96-591A) (RI 8/11/2004), No. 1999-327-C.A. (K1/96-591A)
...witness must be able to "observe, recollect, communicate, and appreciate the necessity of telling the truth." Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 (R.I. 1995) (citing State v. Cabral, 122 R.I. 623, 629, 410 A.2d 438, 442 (1980)). This Court will overturn a competency decision only f......
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State v. Rivera, No. 2008-100-C.A.
...the obligation of this oath, and to give a correct account of what he may have seen or heard." Id. (quoting Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 (R.I. 1995)). When there is any doubt concerning a witness's minimum credibility, it "should be resolved in favor of allowing the jury to ......
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Craveiro v. Craveiro, No. 2000-381-Appeal.
...or misconceived material evidence." DiMattia v. DiMattia, 747 A.2d 1008, 1008 (R.I.2000) (mem.) (citing Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 The Duartes contend that the trial justice should have ordered plaintiff to pay them $24,000 after the sale of the rental property. We disagre......
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State v. Lynch, No. 1999-327-C.A.
...witness must be able to "observe, recollect, communicate, and appreciate the necessity of telling the truth." Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 (R.I.1995) (citing State v. Cabral, 122 R.I. 623, 629, 410 A.2d 438, 442 (1980)). This Court will overturn a competency decision only fo......
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State v. Lynch, No. 1999-327-C.A. (K1/96-591A) (RI 8/11/2004), No. 1999-327-C.A. (K1/96-591A)
...witness must be able to "observe, recollect, communicate, and appreciate the necessity of telling the truth." Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 (R.I. 1995) (citing State v. Cabral, 122 R.I. 623, 629, 410 A.2d 438, 442 (1980)). This Court will overturn a competency decision only f......
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State v. Rivera, No. 2008-100-C.A.
...the obligation of this oath, and to give a correct account of what he may have seen or heard." Id. (quoting Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 (R.I. 1995)). When there is any doubt concerning a witness's minimum credibility, it "should be resolved in favor of allowing the jury to ......
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Craveiro v. Craveiro, No. 2000-381-Appeal.
...or misconceived material evidence." DiMattia v. DiMattia, 747 A.2d 1008, 1008 (R.I.2000) (mem.) (citing Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 The Duartes contend that the trial justice should have ordered plaintiff to pay them $24,000 after the sale of the rental property. We disagre......