Practice Profile: Domestic Violence Courts

This specialty court practice follows the problem-solving court model, and is for individuals charged with domestic violence. In addition to judicial oversight, participants may receive other programming to address substance use or mental health issues or receive referrals to batterer intervention programs. Partnerships are established with judges, mental health workers, social services, and police. The practice is rated Promising for reducing general recidivism and violent, domestic recidivism.

Practice Goals/Target Population

Domestic violence courts (DVCs) follow the problem-solving court model and offer alternative judicial processing for individuals accused of domestic violence. DVCs seek to reduce both general recidivism and violent domestic recidivism among individuals charged with a domestic violence offense.

Practice Components

The option to participate in a DVC is offered at pretrial or post-arraignment (after the first court appearance) and often requires a guilty plea to a domestic violence offense. While components vary across courts, some components are largely common to DVCs. For example, DVCs often involve judicial monitoring and coordination among community stakeholders (e.g., judges, mental health workers, social services, police). They may also be referred to batterer intervention programs and other social services in the community (e.g., substance abuse programming, mental health agencies).

Individuals who participate in DVCs are often required to attend status hearings before a judge for a specified frequency (e.g., weekly or biweekly), which can increase or decrease depending on the individual’s progress. At the scheduled hearings, the individual, the judge, and any community/legal representatives discuss the individual’s behavior and progress. The judge will traditionally review progress, restate the responsibilities of the individual, and provide praise or sanctioning, which can range from verbal warnings to jail time.

If they fail to meet the requirements set out by the court, their original charges may be reinstated or a bench warrant may be issued and a suspended sentence imposed. Although there are similarities regarding practice components, there are differences in the types of cases that DVCs accept (for example, misdemeanor versus felony cases, first-time versus those who are repeatedly convicted of domestic violence offenses).

Practice Theory

The DVC model is largely based on the therapeutic jurisprudence approach, which seeks to deal with individuals with a guilty domestic violence charge and their victims using a problem-solving paradigm. Specifically, the approach involves  coordinating the efforts of community players (e.g., judges, mental health workers, social services, police) to help in restoring the harm caused by the offense (Ostrom 2003; Wexler and Winick 1996).

These sources were used in the development of the practice profile:

These sources were used in the development of the practice profile:

Andrews, Donald A., James Bonta, and Robert D. Hoge. 1990. “Classification for Effective Rehabilitation: Rediscovering Psychology.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 17:19–52.

Gutierrez, Leticia, Julie Blais, and Guy Bourgon. 2017. “Do Domestic Violence Courts work? A Meta-Analytic Review Examining Treatment and Study Quality.” Unpublished manuscript.

Ostrom, J. 2003. “Domestic Violence Courts.” Criminology & Public Policy 3: 105–108.

Wexler, D. B., and B.J. Winick (eds.). 1996. Law in a Therapeutic Key: Developments in Therapeutic Jurisprudence. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press.

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Rochester (N.Y.) Domestic Violence Court Judicial Monitoring

New York Integrated Domestic Violence Courts

New York's Criminal Domestic Violence Courts

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?