Most of the time, the troubles of the rich seem ludicrous, self-imposed or simply beyond our comprehension. But if the plethora of tabloids and celebrity magazines assaulting our sensibilities at the checkout lines of supermarkets are any indication, as a society, we can't seem to get enough of witnessing the mighty fall, the harder the better. It entices us with a disturbing, dirty little pleasure - consuming the gory details of the problems of the well off. But rather than get fixated on the misfortunes of these people, we can take the opportunity to learn valuable lessons.
For example, not long ago, the New York Post, among others, ran a story about K-Rod, the emotionally explosive closing pitcher for the New York Mets. The story in its entirety can be read by clicking here.
In essence, as a result of an altercation with his wife's father, an order of protection (from the Criminal Court) was issued which prevented K-Rod (whose actual name is Francisco Rodriguez) from having any contact whatsoever with his wife. In direct violation of that order, K-Rod sent text messages to his wife. The content of the texts appear to have been innocuous enough (statements of love, apology, etc.) but that did not stop the police from arresting him for violating the order of protection. So now, instead of one legal battle on his hands, K-Rod has two: one for the original assault charge and a second for a charge of criminal contempt of a court order.
Family Court orders of protection are given the same weight as those from the Criminal Court. Moreover, police no longer have discretion about whether to arrest a subject of an order of protection once a violation is alleged (or they're not supposed to). The lesson here is obvious: if you are directed to comply with certain conditions as a result of an order of protection you absolutely must honor those conditions. Violations, even mild ones engaged in with the best of intentions, can land you in deeper trouble than you imagined.
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