Missouri Family Law Blog

A DUI is never a good time. But when it comes in the middle of a custody battle, it can be devastating to your divorce case.  So devastating, that a private investigator in California is now the subject of a state and federal investigation regarding a string of “dirty DUIs” that he set up to assist women with their custody cases. The L.A. Times ran a story about these “dirty DUIs” masterminded by a private investigator working for divorce attorneys. The private investigator paid former showgirls to convince their unfortunate subjects to go out drinking and then invite them to follow them to another location in separate vehicles. Once the man left, a drunk driver was reported matching his description.

These tactics led to at least five men being arrested for DUIs during the course of their custody cases. Due to the conviction, one man had his visitation restricted to only supervised visits. At least two of the men are now seeking to overturn their court orders, based upon the discovery that the DUIs were set up. It is unclear whether this will sway the court to reconsider its prior orders.  However, it is clear that parties in a custody case should be wary of using such tactics to gain an advantage. The real losers in these cases are the children who have to reconcile a father with a criminal conviction and a mother with questionable divorce tactics.

For questions about child custody, contact an attorney at Knight & Salladay.