Norman v. Doby

This case arises from Lindsay Norman’s petition for a temporary protective order “TPO” against her husband, Shane Doby, alleging that he followed her, placed her under surveillance or contacted her without her consent for the purpose of harassing and intimidating her. Following a hearing on the petition, a magistrate judge sitting by designation for a superior court judge issued a 12-month TPO. Doby filed a motion for new trial, however, before the trial court ruled on Doby’s motion, Norman twice consented to entry of an amended TPO to provide for visitation between Doby and the parties’ children. Following a hearing before a superior court judge on Doby’s motion for new trial, the trial court found that the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support the original unamended protective order. However, the trial court directed the parties to comply with the visitation provisions of the TPO as amended by the parties’ consent. This Court granted Norman’s application for discretionary appeal to review the trial court’s order on Doby’s new trial motion.

On appeal, Norman contends that the trial court erred in 1 finding that the evidence at the original hearing was insufficient as a matter of law; 2 ordering the parties to comply with the amended TPO; and 3 ruling on Norman’s motion to seal and exclude the transcript of the original hearing. For the following reasons, we affirm in part and reverse in part the trial court’s order.