Macomb County Circuit Chief Judge Antonio Viviano dropped the ball regarding Maria Djelaj's request for a PPO

I was so angry when I read the below Detroit Free Press news article today.

I feel that Michigan Macomb County Circuit Chief Judge Antonio Viviano needs to step down.

This incident is not the first time that a woman has been killed by her husband. This incident is not the first time a woman of Albanian or Armenian heritage has been killed by her husband in Michigan. There was another case where a woman who wanted a divorce from her husband was killed by him and later he fled the country.

What in the world was that judge and the woman's lawyer thinking? Who does the legal research for them? Michigan just recently went through the horrific murder case of Stephen Grant who killed and dismembered his wife, Tara Lynn Grant right in front of their children. Stephen Grant's case was all over the news last year and he was recently sentenced to life. Macomb County Circuit Chief Judge Antonio Viviano was also involved in the legal proceedings of the murder trial. Judge Viviano was the one to select Attorney Stephen Rabuat, to replace David Griem, the Detroit lawyer who withdrew as Stephen Grant's attorney because of irreconcilable differences.

Already folks are trying to do damage control. In the Detroit News article, the officials claimed that because the PPO issue was not raised in court at the time of the hearing, the judge did not believe it had merit when it was presented to him later. The article indicated:

“Viviano could not be reached for comment Thursday. But county spokesman Phil Frame said Viviano did not grant the protection order because it had not been mentioned at the divorce hearing and there did not appear to be a need to act on it immediately. A lot of times (personal protection orders) are granted after a hearing. That would have been a good chance to raise that issue," he said. It's not clear whether the order would have made a difference, said Carmen Wargel, director of community development for the Mount Clemens-based nonprofit Turning Point, which supports domestic violence victims.”

After reading the response from the county spokesman and Turning Point, I can not help but believe that either Viviano (whose son is Judge David Viviano) carries a lot of political clout or folks are nervous and trying to be careful in the event that a potential lawsuit is filed on behalf of the children. I know for a fact that Turning Point relies on a lot of financial support from the Macomb County community. I definitely believe they do not want to ruffle the feathers of any potential contributors or county officials.

Here is some logic folks.............

The articles indicated that Maria Djelaj filed the PPO request after the hearing. Why didn't Judge Viviano consider that her husband, Djerdj Djelaj was upset after the hearing and made those threats to her later? According to the below article, the judge knew that the relationship between them was tense, and he had to order them to "not to bad mouth each other in the presence of their children." I know many folks claim that a PPO is not worth the paper that it is printed on, but to me it is important that at least the claim of a threat has been acknowledged and documented by the police and the court. The couple had already been to court regarding domestic abuse, but unfortunately Mr. Djelaj was acquitted in December 2007.

I find it so sad that Maria Djelaj's claim that she was afraid that her husband was going to kill her was not taken seriously, and I feel Viviano and her lawyer definitely dropped the ball on this situation. I hope that her children sue the pants off of Viviano or Macomb County. If they do not, I just hope that folks, especially those that care and all women who have experienced or known someone who went through domestic violence or died as a result of it, will remember this case and do not let Judge Viviano forget the incident when he runs for or is assigned another prominent public office position.

Detroit Free Press Article

SHELBY TOWNSHIP

Wife sought protection order 9 days before murder-suicide

BY AMBER HUNT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • March 21, 2008

Maria Djelaj's note was prophetic: "I'm afraid he is going to kill me."

She scrawled those words on a request for a personal protection order March 10. Nine days later, she was dead, shot and killed by the man she feared -- her husband.

Djerdj Djelaj, 46, gunned down his wife while the two sat in a parking lot at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church, Shelby Township Police Detective Terry Hogan said. Djelaj then turned the gun on himself.

Before he did, police said, he called the couple's two adult children and said good-bye. The young adults -- one turned 18 recently -- found their parents' bodies and called 911.

"Sadly, I'm not surprised," said Roberta Sarkis, the Mt. Clemens lawyer who was representing Maria Djelaj in her divorce.

Sarkis appeared in court March 10 with Maria Djelaj, 38, and her father, Kola Gjola. Both filed for protection orders after the hearing, on Sarkis' advice.

In the request, Maria Djelaj wrote of a Sept. 16 incident that resulted in a domestic violence charge against her husband of 21 years, but a district judge acquitted him in December.

She also said that on March 4, her husband "came straight in my face and said I will break every bone in your body," she wrote in the petition.

And she said that on June 30, he beat her so severely she needed stitches in her head.

"Over the years, he has threatened me and my children," she wrote.

Her father, in a separate request, wrote that on March 10 his son-in-law said: "From today on wherever you are I will find you and kill you."

The protection order requests were denied the next day by Circuit Judge Antonio Viviano, who was set to handle the couple's divorce trial in May.

Court officials said neither Gjola nor his daughter told Viviano in person that they feared for their safety, and the acrimony was so intense that Viviano ordered the two sides not to bad-mouth each other in front of their four children, two of whom are minors.

That isn't the couple Hana Lulgjuraj said she knew. The Oakland County paralegal knew the couple because of their shared Albanian heritage and worked with them in 2002 on a civil claim stemming from a car accident.

"They appeared to be a very happy couple," Lulgjuraj said. "She was happy and full of life. It's devastating."

Contact AMBER HUNT at 586-469-4682 or alhunt@freepress.com.

Update: The Macomb Daily provided more detailed information.

Macomb Daily
PUBLISHED: Friday, March 21, 2008

Victim sought protection
Judge denied request; police say husband then killed wife

By Frank DeFrank,
Macomb Daily Staff Writer

A woman shot and killed by her husband in the parking lot of a Shelby Township church had unsuccessfully sought a personal protection order just nine days before she was killed because, she told court officials, "I'm afraid he's going to kill me."

Maria Djelaj, 38, was shot to death Wednesday in what Shelby Township police have determined was a murder-suicide. Djelaj's accused killer, her estranged husband, Djerdj Djelaj, 47, took his own life. The couple were in the process of a divorce, and Djelaj previously had been acquitted during a court trial on a domestic violence-related charge.

"I'm afraid he is going to kill me," Maria wrote in her petition for a personal protection order, filed March 10, 2008 in Macomb County Circuit Court.

Maria also highlighted other occasions during which her husband "beat" and "threatened" her.

The petition was for an "ex parte" order, meaning it would have to be granted without the knowledge of Maria's husband. According to court records, Judge Antonio Viviano denied the request because, "The allegations in the petition do not provide reasonable cause to believe immediate and irreparable injury will occur if an ex parte order is issued without a hearing."

Viviano also advised the woman she could request a hearing for a protection order within 21 days.

The request for a protection order wasn't the first time the couple's rocky marriage wound up in court. Djelaj was acquitted on a domestic violence charge earlier this year in Shelby Township's 41A District Court, said Phil Frame, a spokesman for Macomb County.

About 7:40 p.m. Wednesday, Shelby Township police Chief Robert Leman said a man telephoned Shelby Township to report his brother was about to kill his wife and himself. When police responded and found the couple in a minivan, she was dead and he was mortally wounded. Djelaj died later after emergency personnel transported him to a hospital.

"(The caller said) his brother had either killed or was going to kill his wife and himself," Leman said.

The brother told police Djelaj was near a church in the vicinity of 21 Mile Road and Patterson. Officers were dispatched to St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church, located along Schoenherr Road near Patterson Street.

"We put two and two together and responded there," Leman said.

When officers arrived, they found a minivan in a back section of the church parking lot. Inside, officers found the deceased woman and the wounded man.

Following additional conversations with family members, Leman said he learned Djelaj and his wife were Shelby Township residents, but had separated. The couple, married in 1986, had four children.

The chief also said officers were called to the couple's home on a domestic violence call at least once in 2007.

"They had some domestic problems," Leman said.

Djelaj's choice to pull into the parking lot at St. Therese of Lisieux may not have been coincidental. Leman said the couple, although not members, had attended the church on occasion.

Linda Maccarone, church administrator, arrived at St. Lisieux shortly after police were summoned. She said initial media reports that a service was in progress and interrupted by the shootings were inaccurate.

"There were people in the church," said Maccarone. "There was a meeting going on … But nobody really heard anything."

Maccarone also said a funeral for Maria Djelaj is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the church.