Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog
Divorce records have been used against political candidates by their opponents in Kentucky and Georgia as the election mud-slinging kicks into high gear just weeks before the election.
In Kentucky, Re. Lincoln Davis, who is seeking his fifth term in Congress, is running television commercials about the alleged violent behavior of his opponent, Dr. Scott DesJarlais, from his 10-year-old divorce case. The attorney for DesJarlais’ ex-wife alleged that the doctor “became violent and threatening, dry firing a gun outside the locked bedroom door” and “holding a gun in his mouth for three hours.” DeJarlais denied the incidents ever took place, saying the allegations “were never proven and are simply false.”
In Georgia, a judge will rule on Oct. 26 about whether or not the 2001 divorce records of Republican Austin Scott, who is running against Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall for the state’s 8th Congressional District seat, will be made public. A Democratic activist and blogger filed a motion to get the records unsealed amid rumors that Scott’s divorce files contain allegations of domestic violence and a restraining order.
Scott, who is vigorously opposing making the divorce records public, has said he will not discuss his 2001 divorce and alleges that the effort to get the records unsealed is a political dirty trick by his opponent, who is the incumbent in the Congressional race.