Orange County Court Ignores Abundant Evidence of Abuse, Gives Children to Father
The Julie Holburn Story: Mom turned Investigative Journalist
Originally Published on Newsbreak, May 20, 2023. Updated.
Julie Holburn held full legal and physical custody of her two children from the time she divorced their father, William Holburn, in 2012. In 2019, the Orange County Superior Court renewed a 2015 domestic violence restraining order against Mr. Holburn. But in November 2022, Judge James L. Waltz reversed the custody order—effectively stripping Julie of the protections she had fought to maintain for over a decade. The ruling stunned domestic violence advocates and raised new questions about judicial discretion and due process in California’s family courts.
Julie only gets one supervised visit a week for three hours with her children and Mr. Holburn was given full custody.
“I feel like my heart has been ripped out of me,” Julie said. “It makes no sense.”
Since their divorce, Julie has had a protective restraining order against Mr. Holburn who has violated those orders over a dozen times between 2014 and 2021, according to court records. Mr. Holburn has withheld their two children several times and records show a history of child abuse.
Between 2012 and 2022, Julie had full custody of the children but when Orange County Judge James L. Waltz took over the case in October 2022, he vacated the restraining order, claimed Julie was “alienating” the children from their father and completely disrupted the children’s established routine.
Citing a CPS report, Judge Waltz told Julie that her “hysteria” caused the 2021 chase and attack and that she is a “bully” for writing formal complaints to internal affairs and the attorney general’s office.
“[Waltz] cites that I am guilty of “parental alienation” and that the kids have false memories,” Julie said. “That the abuse is all made up.”
Although parental alienation has never been accepted as a psychiatric disorder by the medical community, mental health professionals, specifically those who specialize in custody cases, assess and treat it throughout the United States.
Judges nearly always make rulings based on the advice of these non-licensed professionals.
University of Irvine professor Jacquelynne Eccles, an expert in adolescent development said what the judge did is one of the most harmful things that could happen to a child’s development.
“Taking children away from their established routine and a safe environment and completely flipping their lives upside down is incredibly harmful to children,” Eccles said.
The court accused Julie of parental alienation after she raised allegations of abuse re‐ lating to a March 2021 incident that was captured on video.
In March 2021, Mr. Holburn did not return the two children to their mother for a few days. After three days, Julie and her adult son went to bring them home.
The two children started to run for their mother and brother when they saw them outside in the parking lot. Mr. Holburn grabbed at and tried to restrain the children and started to chase after them when they broke free, the video shows.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
An anonymous 911 caller said she saw Julie running down the street being chased by Mr. Holburn who was “grabbing” at them.
“This guy was walking, or I guess kind of running after them and grabbing them,” the caller said. “The kids were still screaming and before I knew it the older kid was beating the guy to get him off of them because he was grabbing them. I called because the kids were like, screaming.”
When Costa Mesa police arrived, they questioned everyone but no arrests were made.
In the body cam videos, Costa Mesa police are never seen treating Julie or the two minor children as victims or asking if they are hurt.
Nadine Katibloo, the family therapist, sees Julie’s daughter alone and with her brother.
Katibloo wrote in a letter in August 2021, stating that Mr. Holburn's emails and phone calls have become very aggressive and threatening over time.
Because of what the children have shared with me during their therapy sessions, which were remote and in person, it is not in the children's best interest for her to share the content of my sessions or any records with Mr. Holburn, Katibloo wrote.
“It is my recommendation that it is not safe or in their best interest to have in-person visitation with Mr. Holburn at this time,” Katibloo wrote.
Katibloo wrote in an email that the daughter has indicated that she doesn't like visiting with her dad because he is mean to her brother and hit their mom when they were running away from him.
Both children have told mediators about the abuse they experienced from their father and that their preference is to live with their mother. Judge Waltz has so far ignored those preferences.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Judge Waltz said at a May 5 custody hearing that he is only concerned about the best interests of the children and the interests of the parents are not relevant.
The hearing was postponed to include the testimony of a reunification therapist, Jessica St. Clair.
Mr. Holburn also owes Julie about $80,000 in child support that he has not been forced to pay nor has the court shown any concern for.
Mr. Holburn’s pattern of making threats
Mr. Holburn has threatened Julie’s doctors, therapists, court watchers, boyfriends and even journalists over the past several years and as recently as early this month.
Psychotherapist Ari Novick said he was contacted by Mr. Holburn on April 1, 2016.
Mr. Holburn left a voice message at his office and when Novick returned his phone call, Mr. Holburn questioned him about whether or not Julie was a patient and who had been paying her counseling fees.
“He also asked questions about whether or not I was treating his children,” Novick wrote. When I was unwilling to provide detailed answers to his questions, he threatened to take legal action, if needed.”
After Ms. Holbun brought her children in for a consultation, he referred her to a child psychologist.
“While I do treat children in my practice, I felt it would be in the children's best interest to be seen by someone who specifically works with young children and divorce,” Novick wrote.
Mr. Holburn also accused Dr. Novcik of being a "personal friend" of Ms. Holburn.
“I am not friends with Ms. Holburn. We have a professional relationship and I have never seen her outside of her scheduled counseling sessions at my office,” Novick wrote.
Mr. Holburn threatened the father of children who are friends with his two children in 2022, text messages show.
Daniel Bonaventure, the father of Julie’s kids’ friends, was threatened by Mr. Holburn with legal action for not responding to a text message from him.
“Hi Daniel, I did not receive any response to my message. My attorney will contact you and Tabitha to discover what is going on,” Holburn wrote.
Bonaventure stopped communicating with Julie because of Mr. Holburn’s behavior.
“Your ex is a psycho. I hope you can use this against him, but I will not allow my kids or myself to be looped into his circus,” Bonaventure said.
Family therapist Michael Uram has also faced threats from Mr. Holburn.
“Please do email me back with clarification regarding the court order for Will having access to records and you having sole legal custody. He has escalated his threats recently,” Uram said in a 2021 email.
Mr. Holburn was contacted for his version of events but chose to make baseless allegations of defamation and threats of legal action.
“I will need your communication records with the respondent in this case. Once again, please provide your address so you can be served,” Mr. Holburn said.
When asked why the video shows his children and ex-wife running away from him in fear and why his children seem terrified of him, Mr. Holburn threatened this journalist with legal repercussions.
“I have simply asked you to provide contact info so I can serve you with legal documents. You have refused to assist and I will let the court know when it is time,” Mr. Holburn wrote in a recent email.
The DOJ first adopted a new policy in July 2021, prohibiting the use of subpoenas, warrants, court orders and other compulsory legal process to obtain information from journalists when they're acting within the scope of their news-gathering duties, according to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The new regulations only allow prosecutors to subpoena records in certain circumstances, including if the information they are seeking is imperative to prevent a serious crime, if the journalist themselves are the target of an investigation, if the records involve already public information or if the journalist agrees to the disclosure of their records.
Julie and Mr. Holburn's next ourt hearing is Friday, May 19.
Related Articles and Media:
Orange County woman worries she may end up like Gabby Petito
Orange County's How to Manual for Racketeering in Child Custody
OC Bar Association says “I just want to protect my children” means “I just want to screw my ex”
Orange County Mother's Plea for Protection: Local Police and OCDA's office Fail to Act
Whistleblowers Reveal Corruption in Orange County Family Courts and Beyond
CENSORED FOR SPEAKING OUT: OCDA Deleted Public Comments During Its Own Crime Victims Rights Ceremony
OC Court Delays for 10 Months—Then Demands $4,240 for One Public Record
Keshel threatens to investigate judge over pending family-court cases
04/14/2025 - Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Family Court Orders
EXCLUSIVE: The Paralegal Pretenders of Orange County — A Hidden Threat in Family Court
Orange County’s Justice Meltdown: Judge Carmen Luege’s Unlawful Orders and Due Process Violations
OC Man Charged with 5 Felony Counts of Molestation: Family Court and CPS Ignored Reports for Years
OCDA Ignores Good Cause Law, Family Court Violates Due Process in Tawny Minna Grossman Case
Judicial Misconduct in OC? Judge’s Threats Against Mother Over Media Coverage Become Reality
Weaponized Gag Orders: How an OC Judge Is Silencing a Quadriplegic Mother’s Fight for Justice
Orange County Judges Block Public and Media from Court Hearings
Update: “Tar’s Road to Recovery” Mom Bullied by OC Minors’ Counsel in Fight Over Special Needs Trust
Injustice in OC: mom of tar's road to recovery faces unjust & prolonged separation from her kids
OC Judge’s Orders Lead to Premature Birth: Baby Sahara Fights for Life
California Judges: The Good, the Bad, and the… San Joaquin County, Part Two
Welcome to Unveiled and Uncensored: Investigating Family Court Corruption