Matthew Martin should have received the order of protection Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce issued against him a year ago, the state appeals court in Kansas City ruled Tuesday.
A three-judge panel rejected Martin's arguments Joyce didn't have sufficient evidence to support issuing the order, and she failed to award him damages, as he had requested in a counterclaim.
On Nov. 16, 2015, Joyce issued a full order of protection against Martin at the request of his ex-wife - identified in the appeals court records only as N.M. - after holding a hearing on the request.
It was the second protection order issued against Martin at his wife's request - Circuit Judge Dan Green issued the earlier one in July 2014, after the couple had separated but before their divorce had been finalized.
Unless renewed by a court, orders of protection in Missouri expire after one year.
The eight-page opinion, written by Presiding Judge Lisa White Hardwick, noted the Martins married in 1988 and separated in May 2014. They had one child.
Shortly before the woman filed her dissolution petition in June 2014, N.M. alleged Martin cut her with a knife, which led to the petition for an order of protection, Hardwick noted. Green entered a full order of protection July 17, 2014.
Joyce approved the divorce in April 2015, and Green's protection order expired in July without being renewed.
After that expiration, Hardwick noted Martin began making intimidating, offensive gestures and comments to N.M. The two worked for different state agencies in the same building.
Hardwick wrote: "Although N.M. and Martin normally did not run into each other in their office building, a few weeks after the full order of protection expired, Martin purposely went into the office building's elevator with N.M.
"While the two were in the elevator together, he called her a lewd name."
The appeals court opinion also noted Martin repeatedly demanded N.M. give him the keys to the house she lives in with their child. She sought a new order of protection in September, and an ex parte order was issued until a hearing on the request for a full order could be held.
That hearing was delayed until Nov. 16, 2015, after Green recused himself from the case.
Martin denied he had ever physically harmed or harassed N.M. and asked the Cole County court to award him $4,902.23 in damages as a result of N.M.'s "false claims" against him.
The appeals court noted N.M. testified Martin was violent during their marriage and she was wounded in the 2014 knife incident. She also testified about the harassment in the office building.
Although Martin denied her claims, the appeals court said: "The court was not required to believe him.
"We must defer to the circuit court's decision to accept N.M.'s testimony over Martin's."
The challenged protection order remained in effect during Martin's appeal, and N.M. asked Joyce two weeks ago to extend it for another year. A hearing on that request has been set for Dec. 8.