Domestic violence case processing: a matter of local legal culture

Abstract

As one enters a courthouse, its culture is communicated to its listening visitors. The manner in which the security guards speak; the length of time victims are kept waiting; the amount of bail a defendant is assessed; communicate messages to those who are paying attention. Domestic violence cases have long suffered from lenient treatment and dismissals in our criminal courts. This paper examines a unique explanation for this problem: the court’s local legal culture. The elements of two courts’ local legal culture that most profoundly impacted their processing of domestic violence cases are examined. Over a six month period, 23 in depth interviews were conducted with court workgroup members in two courts, one with a specialized domestic violence session and one without. Court room observations were used to supplement these interviews. The results were insightful and telling about how a court’s culture can, at times, be more influential on case processing than the law itself.

Keywords:

• domestic violence
• local legal culture
• specialized courts
• problem-solving model of justice
• resources
• collaboration

Notes

1. The court-generated list is posted publicly and available to all attorneys so that they know what their clients are being charged with and specific case information.

2. A lobby conference is a private meeting between the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney. It is usually held in the Judge’s chambers and allows the parties to discuss the case without the public hearing its contents.

3. Bench trials are also called jury-waived trials. This takes place when a defense attorney advises his client to have his matter heard without a jury and before a sole judge.

4. In the comparison court, the first session is the pre-trial session and the second session is the trial session.