A judge found Brody Dalle guilty of criminal contempt for not providing Queens of the Stoneage frontman Josh Homme with their five-year-old son during his court-ordered visitation. As Rolling Stone reports, she was declared innocent of three other contempt charges in a mixed ruling that saw Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff scold both parents for thinking that criminal law is “the answer to a family’s problems.”
While Dalle was guilty of “willfully” violating a court other to deliver their five-year-old son Orrin to Homme on September 3rd, she was acquitted of the same charge for their ten-year-old son, Wolf. The judge sided with Dalle, agreeing that Wolf had refused the visit on his own.
The judge also listened to arguments that Dalle committed criminal contempt by denying Homme access to the children over video calls. After hearing evidence that the children had blocked Homme’s number in their cell phones of their own choice, Judge Riff found Dalle innocent of those charges.
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The contentious proceedings shed new light on the ongoing legal tussle between Homme and Dalle. In September, the same judge tossed out a restraining order filed against Homme on behalf of his two sons, Wolf (10), and Orrin (5). Now, we know that Dalle wasn’t even present when those filings were made. Her 15-year-old daughter Camille made the trip to the Santa Monica courthouse with Dalle’s boyfriend, Gunner Foxx.
Dalle said that the signature on those documents was “not my signature,” suggesting her name had been forged. Camille identified the handwriting as belonging to Foxx. According to Dalle, she knew the restraining orders would be filed shortly beforehand, and while she didn’t provide authorization, she also didn’t try to prevent Foxx from proceeding. At this time, no charges have been filed against Foxx, and it’s unclear what legal repercussions he might face, if any.
Another restraining order, filed on behalf of Camille, was upheld by the court on September 7th. Camille had accused her father of verbal and physical abuse.
After the verdict on Friday, Homme addressed the court, complaining that he hadn’t seen his eldest son since August. “I followed every single order you gave. Why did I do that?” he asked the judge. Riff replied, “I know how disappointed you are, and I know you think this system has let you down.”
In his sentencing, Judge Riff issued a stern rebuke to both parents. “Everybody here has gotten a serious tutorial in criminal law. Criminal law is not the answer to a family’s problems,” he said. “What you really need to be focusing on is how in this current fractured environment you’ll be able to co-parent. And you’re going to need help. You’re going to need third parties involved. If you can get there, you’re going to heal this family. But doing it through contempt proceedings and DV [domestic violence restraining order] proceedings probably is not the answer.”
