Domestic Violence Courts

The number of domestic violence cases in the United States has increased exponentially since the 1980s when the first mandatory arrest laws were put in place. Responses to domestic violence cases by traditionally organized courts were often fragmented. It was sometimes the case that a single family could be involved in several courts in one judicial system simultaneously with conflicting court orders being the result. Consequently, many jurisdictions across the country developed specialized criminal courts to hear these cases. These courts are generally referred to as domestic violence courts and often have judges and staff specially trained to work with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.

Major benefits of these courts include the ability to address domestic violence cases in a more holistic and efficient manner; the provision of more consistent services to victims, perpetrators, and other affected family members, including dependent children; and the development of strong ties to other public and community-based agencies that respond to domestic violence (i.e., the development of a coordinated community response to domestic violence). Major values underlying the organization of domestic violence courts include a focus on (a) safety for both adult and child victims, (b) providing up-to-date information on case status and services to victims, (c)  holding domestic violence offenders accountable, (d)  increasing coordination and information sharing [Page 196]among community service providers for both victims and offenders, and (d) more effectively using court systems to help limit domestic violence.

Five primary components of domestic violence courts have been addressed in the literature. They are (1) case assignment, (2) screening for related cases, (3) intake units and case processing, (4) service provision, and (5) monitoring. At least three models of specialized domestic violence courts, however, have been developed, and they address these components differently. One model focuses on civil protection orders. Protection order petitions and protection order violation hearings make up a large proportion of domestic violence caseloads. As a result, some jurisdictions have created specialized civil protection order dockets. There is some variation in terms of the number of judges a jurisdiction dedicates to the docket and whether the court also handles protection order enforcement. This model is also rather limited in that victims often have myriad other legal issues that need to be addressed. Nevertheless, evaluators of this model point out that it promotes victim safety and, as one element of a coordinated community response, can link victims to appropriate services and other justice system remedies.

A second model is the specialized domestic violence court that focuses on criminal cases. Again, there is variation across jurisdictions, with some of these courts processing only misdemeanors, others only felonies, and still others both misdemeanors and felonies. Advocates of this model emphasize its ability to hold offenders accountable by imposing sanctions and monitoring offenders' compliance. However, critics of the model point out that some victims prefer civil, rather than criminal, remedies and that unless this type of court is part of a coordinated community response effort, victims are not likely to consistently avail themselves of civil remedies such as protection orders or other available services.

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