Martinez v. Leon

Petitioner appealed from a trial court order that granted her request for a plenary order of protection against respondent, with whom she had an infant son, but that denied her request for a temporary child support order. The trial court denied the request for trial support on the basis that respondent did not receive adequate notice of the hearing and because it determined that the matter was more appropriately decided in a separate proceeding. The appellate court noted that one of the express goal of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act was to ensure that victims are not trapped in abusive situations by financial dependence and held that the trial court erred when it denied petitioner’s request for temporary child support. (ROCHFORD and MARTIN, concurring)