It sounds like she has a good case for
sole custody; whether she pursues that or not is going to be up to her.
This is a bit out of date (I think) but may help to serve as a guide:
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/jointlaws.htmHere is some more specific information on Arizona custody:
Arizona has guidelines and rules that set forth specific factors that the Court should address in deciding what is in the best interests of the children. There are other factors which may not be written in the rules, but are important. These factors are not limited to the following.
1. Whether either of the parties have primarily provided the care for the children in the past.
2. What the parents want and the reason why.
3. What the children want and the reason why.
4. What the children's relationship with the parents is..
5. How the children are doing in each household, and how they do in school and other areas.
6. Whether the parents use appropriate discipline and reinforcement.
7. The physical health of each of the parents.
8. The mental health of the children.
9. The mental health of each of the parents
10. The physical health of the children.
11. Which parent is more likely to work well with the other parent regarding parenting time and other issues.
12. Whether the parents have any problems which effect the children's best interests - For example -
drug use, alcohol abuse, physical abuse of the children or the other parent, and criminal history in some cases.
13. If psychologists or other mental health providers have been involved, the Court may consider recommendations from such experts.
14. Whether one of the parties is attempting to alienate the children or is engaging in other inappropriate behavior.
In short, Arizona does not appear to have
joint custody by default.
The husband sounds like a jerk in many ways, but I'm also sure there's enough blame to go around. In the long run I think it would be better to establish joint custody than sole custody- cutting the father off from the children further is not likely to improve anything.
It's a hard decision to make, but if your friend keeps her eye on the long-term picture the children will be better off for it. If joint custody truly doesn't work out, she can go for a modification, but don't start out that way by default. He may be a jerk (and she may have her own issues) but he is their father. To casually dismiss as a parent and cut him off from his children is only going to alienate him and make things worse.