Domestic Violence - Court Responses to Domestic Violence

The complexity of the U.S. court system and the well intentionjed positioning of domestic violence legislation within this country creates much of the dysfunction with regards to public managemet of domestic violence. With domestic violence becomeing criminalized the lines between criminal and civil actions are becoming blurred. Individual protection and relief from domestic violence incidents have become both criminal and civil in nature. Domestic law has straetched beyond local statute and now resides in both the federal and state court systems.

The first band-aid to DV is usually the "protective order" or "order of protection". We have already discussed how it is the police officer’s job to enforce the orders of protection which originate in the court system. Today's broadcast discusses what one needs to obtain an order of protection. What happens after one has been issued is complex and may involve not only the immediate abuse victim but also their children and opthers living in the household. Courts across the nation have responded to DV with specialized response calendars, procedures, and courts. Staff have also become specialized and multidisciplinary teams are becoming more the norm.

Persons who are charged with DV crimes may receive any number of sanctions if found guilty and these range from misdemeanor probation to felony prison time. The most frequent response to DV in the court is the offender attend a batterer treatment program. This is supported through specialists involved with providing probation services, victim services, advocacy, and safety sypport.

This broadcast is a public service of The American Public Safety Training Institute: www.tapsti.org