Alleged victim declines to answer questions about Nov. 25 incident under oath, found in contempt
Published in the August 29 – September 11, 2018 issue of Morgan Hill Life
Larry Carr
The domestic battery case against Morgan Hill City Councilmember Larry Carr was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Duong after Barbara Ristrim, the alleged victim, refused to answer questions under oath.
As a result of the lack of testimony, prosecutors were prevented from establishing what happened the night of Nov. 25 and were forced to dismiss the proceedings, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Vishal Bathija said.
“We continually evaluate every case based solely on the evidence we can present in a courtroom,” he said. “Often we proceed with a prosecution even when a victim does not cooperate if the evidence allows us to prove the charges through other evidence. Unfortunately, in this case, the rules of evidence prevented us from proving the case without her testimony.”
Carr, 49, waived his right to a jury trial on the misdemeanor domestic battery charge against Ristrim, his girlfriend of 11 years. The bench trial, a proceeding in which a judge weighs the evidence and determines the defendant’s guilt or innocence, took place Aug. 20 at the Morgan Hill Courthouse.
Bathija said Ristrim was subpoenaed and called to testify. She appeared with an attorney and refused to answer any questions beyond her name and where she lived. Her responses were “no answer” to every question posed.
“In response to her refusal to answer questions, the court warned her that she could be found in contempt of court,” Bathija said. “The questions were repeated and her response continued to be ‘no answer.’ She was then found in contempt of court.”
Without Ristrim’s testimony, the DA could not establish what happened between her and Carr on the night of Nov. 25 when Morgan Hill police arrested Carr at the home he then shared with Ristrim. The officers arrived about 6:25 p.m. that night to conduct a welfare check after Ristrim’s sister called police expressing concern about her sister during a heated argument with Carr. Ristrim had no injuries or complaint of pain as a result of the incident, according to the police report.
According to Bathija, under California Code of Civil Procedure 1219 victims of domestic violence or sexual assault who are held in contempt of court can be sanctioned with a fine or domestic violence awareness classes. The judge ordered domestic violence awareness classes for her.
The judge also terminated a February peaceful contact order against Carr, regulating the type of contact he could have with Ristrim.
A five-term councilmember, Carr said he believed all through the judicial process that the case would result in a positive outcome for him.
“Barbara is an intelligent woman with morals and integrity and she didn’t think what was happening was the right thing, so she told the judge she wouldn’t participate in the prosecution,” he said. “The DA didn’t have any evidence. For lack of evidence he had to dismiss the case.”
After Carr’s arrest, several people in the community asked him at Morgan Hill City Council meetings to step down from his elected position.
“I’ll continue to serve the community through my service on the city council,” he said after the dismissal. “Each time I run for re-election, I take that very seriously and it’s not something that I just set aside. I enjoy that service and tend to think I do a good job at it and will continue doing it for the rest of this term.”
The process of justice in the case has been difficult for both Carr and Ristrim, he said, and he appreciates the emotional support he received from friends and family members.
“From the beginning, I asked for people to have some patience and let me have my due process rights,” he said. “Let me work without people passing judgment on me. Judgment and justice in this case has been slow, but it has worked. What I have said from the outset, Barbara and I stood by each other’s sides and this thing is working out the correct way.”
