Woman Can’t Appeal Fine in Abuse Case

A Kentucky judge has refused to hear the appeal of a woman who was fined $100 for returning to her husband after she had obtained a restraining order against him.

Fayette Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Overstreet dismissed the case late last month, saying the woman could not pursue an appeal because she had paid the fine--or rather, an advocacy group for battered women had paid it on her behalf. Paying the fine amounted to “an admission of guilt,” and so the appeal was moot, Overstreet ruled.