Courting Justice: Tracing the Evolution and Future of Domestic Violence Courts

Specialized domestic violence courts (DVCs) have been a popular judicial option for processing domestic violence (DV) offenders since the 1990s. While DVCs vary in structure, common core components for programming have emerged across courts in the United States concerning courtroom features and processes. This article reviews the etiology and history of specialty courts for intimate partner violence, discusses the common programming components implemented by courts nationwide, and provides an assessment of the efficacy of DVCs in holding offenders accountable while simultaneously protecting victim safety. Finally, the article discusses the ongoing challenges and implications with regard to community response to DVCs.

Examining the Interaction of Race and Probationer Noncompliance on Sanctioning Decisions

Much of the prior literature on racial disparity has focused on sentencing decisions, with recent studies examining possible interactions between defendant race and legally relevant factors. Many defendants serve their sentences within the community, yet less is known about decision-making when probationers are noncompliant with the conditions of their sentence. Rooted in the focal concerns perspective and congruence to stereotypes framework, this study examines whether noncompliance issues are moderated by probationer race in predicting the likelihood of a jail sanction. A sample of 302 review hearings from domestic violence courts was included for analysis. Results demonstrate that several noncompliance issues influenced sanctioning, independent of race; no significant interactions were found. Implications for probation decision-making are discussed.

Understanding Decision-Making in Specialized Domestic Violence Courts

This study fills a gap in the literature by exploring the utility of contemporary courtroom theoretical frameworks—uncertainty avoidance, causal attribution, and focal concerns—for explaining decision-making in specialized domestic violence courts. Using data from two specialized domestic violence courts, this study explores the predictors of prosecutorial and judicial decision-making and the extent to which these factors are congruent with theoretical frameworks often used in studies of court processing. Findings suggest that these theoretical frameworks only partially help explain decision-making in the courts under study. A discussion of the findings and implications for future research is provided.