Pima Civil Court Case Report

On the morning of February 2nd, 2018, a trial was held in downtown Tucson which I had the privilege of attending. Located in the recently-constructed Pima County Justice Court, a violation of an order of protection and domestic violence trial between two parties was administered on floor 5, room 507. The parties involved were Terry Hansen, the defendant, Peter Connor, his attorney, Cecelia Brough, the plaintiff, and Gabby Ruesch, her attorney. The trial was to begin at 9:00 AM and last for approximately 60 minutes, concluding at 10:00 AM. It was to be led by the Honorable Adam Watters. My initial impressions of the parties involved were that they were both very formally prepared for the trial. Mr. Hansen and Connor were the first to arrive to the court room and be seated at their counter. Both were dressed in formal attire, with several documents in their possession. Shortly after, Ms. Brough and Ruesch arrived, also dressed in formal attire. They also possessed

Brough was the first to speak of the case, claiming that on April 11, 2014, Mr. Hansen, the defendant, had assaulted her by pushing her and cornering her in the bathroom of their house after an argument. She proceeded to attain an order of protection against Mr. Hansen, but stated that he broke that order by contacting her via text messages in July of 2014. Her attorney, Gabby Ruesch, supplied the judge with proof of the order of protection, and the text messages being sent, including the date and time stamp of when they were sent. Mr. Hansen responded by stating that there was no assault that took place, only a verbal dispute after his wife arrived home after spending the night elsewhere. In his defense, Mr. Hansen’s attorney, Peter Connor, also stated that as of February 2018, the relationship had been over for a considerable amount of time, and that the incident occurred several years ago. Mr. Hansen did not end up providing any documentation to Judge Watters to help aid his side of the