This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

H and W lived together for two years before their marriage in 1990. Their daughter Danika was born in 1991. They moved several times, going from Williston to Minnesota, back to Williston, to Arizona, and again back to Williston. The relationship was often turbulent. W testified that H had kicked through a locked bathroom door in their apartment, had thrown a cordless phone into a wall near her, and often would put W 'up against the wall and hit the wall above me and scare me,' while calling her names: 'tramp, bitch, whore . . . .' W claimed that H would, 'go through my purse and rip my purse open and take all my credit cards, and take all my money.' W claimed that H threatened to kill her if she left him, and several times threatened suicide. There was also evidence that W had slapped and scratched H sometimes. W sued for divorce in February 1994 and received temporary custody of Danika. The trial court granted the divorce, divided the marital property, and placed custody of Danika with H, with w to pay child support. W appealed.

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