Peters-Riemers v. Riemers
Supreme Court of North Dakota
644 N.W.2d 197 (2002)
In their divorce, Jenese Peters-Riemers (plaintiff) was awarded custody of the couple's son, while Roland Riemers (defendant) received only limited, supervised visitation, after the trial court made specific findings that Riemers had repeatedly physically abused Peters-Riemers, including kicking her in the stomach while pregnant and fracturing her face (to which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault), along with evidence of his adultery. The court found any violence by Peters-Riemers was in self-defense and less serious. Riemers appealed, challenging the domestic-violence and extreme-cruelty findings.
Whether the trial court erred in awarding custody to the mother, with limited visitation to the father, given evidence that the father physically abused the mother numerous times and seriously injured her at least once.