Noah Steffy v. Alecia Steffy

2021 Ark. App. 171

• Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas
• Decided: April 21, 2021
• Status: Published

Opinion

Cite as 2021 Ark. App. 171 Elizabeth Perry ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS I attest to the accuracy and DIVISION I integrity of this document No. CV-20-381 2023.06.26 15:35:59 -05'00' 2023.001.20174 Opinion Delivered April 21, 2021 NOAH STEFFY APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE SEBASTIAN V. COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, FORT SMITH DISTRICT ALECIA STEFFY [NO. 66FDR-20-116] APPELLEE HONORABLE SHANNON L. BLATT, JUDGE

AFFIRMED

BRANDON J. HARRISON, Chief Judge

In this one-brief appeal, appellant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support

a final order of protection entered on 4 March 2020. We affirm the circuit court’s order.

I.

Alecia Steffy started this case in the Sebastian County Circuit Court on 20 February

2020 when she filed a petition and supporting affidavit for an order of protection against

Noah Steffy under the Domestic Abuse Act. Ark. Code Ann. § 9-15-205(a) (Repl. 2015).

Domestic abuse is defined as “[p]hysical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear

of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault between family or household

members.” Ark. Code Ann. § 9-15-103(4)(A) (Repl. 2020).

Alecia’s affidavit alleged that on 13 January 2020, her husband, Noah, threatened to

hit her in the head with a fire log. The affidavit further alleged that on February 4, while Alecia was recovering from an abdominal hernia surgery, Noah had argued with her and

said that he “believes that a husband has every right to apply corporal punishment to his

wife as [sic] he (the husband) sees fit.” She said that Noah spanked her bottom, picked up

a hammer, and threatened “to bash [her] head in with it if [she] didn’t ‘shut up.’” Alecia

wrote about several events over the past few years that left her with scratches, slaps, punches,

and a bruise that did not go away for nearly four months. According to Alecia, there had

been a violent incident in 2005, but things had “quieted down” for the most part between

2005 and 2013; but in 2014, after the birth of their third child, Noah’s outbursts resumed.

Alecia and Noah have five children. Alecia said that Noah stated that he would “take out

anyone” who tried to take his kids away from him, and “the only way anyone would get

his kids was over his dead body.”

Alecia also alleged that if she got custody of the children, Noah “would take them

and run. He is determined not to let me have our kids.” “If I ever try to take the kids and

go, he would not stop until he found me, and then when he did find me, I would regret

ever taking them in the first place.” Alecia asked for full custody of the children because

Noah “can’t tolerate keeping his kids for more than an hour without getting upset.”

In light of these allegations, the circuit court entered an ex parte order of protection

against Noah on 20 February 2020. A final hearing was held on 4 March 2020.

At the final hearing, seventeen-year-old TS testified that Noah threatened to have

Alecia “hauled to jail,” that he will “make sure” Alecia does not separate from him, and that

he would pound Alecia’s head into the ground. TS also testified that Noah had threatened

2 to bash her head in the ground; and that if she were a boy then he would have already “dealt

with [her] as such.” TS said that she did not feel safe at home.

On cross-examination, TS agreed that she had observed Noah’s physical violence

toward Alecia, including a spanking. She said that Noah’s being “really, really upset”

occurred frequently, and that if Alecia contacted the police about anything Noah said, he

would hurt Alecia.

AS testified that she and her siblings were outside last month, Noah would not let

her in, and she heard him yelling at Alecia while she was doing laundry. AS saw Noah pick

up a board and threaten to put it through Alecia’s throat. AS also said that Noah had picked

up a hammer when he was really angry. According to AS, Noah frequently called Alecia

names and told her she was a failure as a mother. AS said that Noah had hit her with a small

metal rod when he was angry, had broken her taekwondo board, and had threatened to hit

her with it. AS also said that Noah had threatened to hit her sister, TS, with a metal hanger

when she would not let him read a love letter she had written to someone. AS testified that

Noah told TS that he would have smashed her face in if she was a boy or killed her by now.

There is more. Suffice it to say that Alecia testified during the final hearing that she

was seeking an order of protection because it was no longer safe to stay in her home with

Noah. She gave the court details about the events alleged in her petition—specifically, the

February 4 event after her hernia surgery and the February 17 event in which Noah

threatened to shove the board into her neck while she was doing laundry. The rest is in the

record.

3 Noah did not testify, but Pamela Reed, Noah’s mother, testified on his behalf. She

said that she lives three doors down from the family and that she had never heard any

screaming or fighting. She said that she had heard Noah threaten Alecia with physical harm

but not the children. Angie Ellis, a friend, testified that Noah did yard work for her and

that the girls and Alecia would sometimes do the yard work. She said that while the kids

were “pretty rambunctious” they did not seem afraid of him and that she did not see any

signs of abuse that needed to be reported.

At the conclusion of the final hearing, the circuit court found that Alecia had proved

her case by a preponderance of the evidence and that the allegations in her petition were

true. On 4 March 2020, the circuit court entered a final order of protection against Noah,

effective for one year.1 The court wrote that “the victim(s) is (are) in immediate and present

danger of domestic abuse and therefore an Order of Protection is hereby granted[.]” Under

the order’s terms, Noah was prohibited from contacting Alecia, and he was excluded from

her residence, place of employment, and church.

II.

Noah argues that the circuit court erred by entering a final order of protection

without finding domestic abuse and that there was insufficient evidence to support the order.

Our standard of review following a bench trial under the Domestic Abuse Act is whether

the circuit court’s findings are clearly erroneous. Poland v. Poland, 2017 Ark. App. 178, at

2, 518 S.W.3d 98, 100. A finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to

1 Although the order of protection expired on 4 March 2021, this appeal is not mooted by the order’s expiration. See Poland v. Poland, 2017 Ark. App. 178, 518 S.W.3d 98.

4 support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with a definite and firm

conviction that a mistake has been committed. Id. Disputed facts and determinations of

credibility are within the province of the fact-finder. Id. Under Arkansas Code Annotated

section 9-15-103(4)(A), there must be evidence that Noah caused physical harm, bodily

injury, or assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm to support the court’s

entry of a final order of protection. Id.

The circuit court found that Alecia was in immediate and present danger of domestic

abuse. That decision was not clearly erroneous on this record. Consequently, the court’s

decision to enter a protective order that restricts Noah’s contact with Alecia for one year is

affirmed.

ABRAMSON and GRUBER, JJ., agree.

Lisa-Marie Norris, for appellant.

One brief only.