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Teresa Miranda
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Acting Program Manager and Senior Attorney, Violence Against Women Program
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A number of factors distinguish domestic violence prosecutions from other types of criminal prosecutions:
- By definition, domestic violence involves parties who are in a close familial, romantic or sexual relationship.
- Battering episodes tend to be ongoing and cyclical.
- These crimes are often committed in the privacy of the home, insuring that witnesses are scarce and evidence limited.
- Battered women and their children are often in the greatest danger once the criminal justice system is engaged.
- Many victims are reluctant to cooperate with the prosecution of their batterers.
For these and other reasons, successfully prosecuting domestic violence does not merely mean holding the offender accountable; it necessitates keeping the victim safe and alive. Reacting in the wrong way to a reluctant or recanting victim can have deadly consequences. Accordingly, prosecutors may need to utilize different strategies in domestic violence prosecutions than in other types of cases.
Promulgating written prosecution policies and protocols for domestic violence cases can have a number of positive consequences. Written prosecution policies and protocols insure that the prosecutor’s response to domestic violence is thoughtful, consistent, and just. Prosecutors and personnel in other system components are guided by the procedures outlined in the policy. When there is turnover, consistency is not sacrificed. Next, written policies take the pressure off victims, particularly when copies of the policy are available to defense attorneys or the public. Finally, the existence of a written policy sends a number of messages. It tells the community that the topic is important; it tells offenders that violent conduct is unacceptable; and finally, it tells victims that their safety matters.
Domestic violence policies are not easy to draft. Difficult issues must be addressed. For example, will the office adopt a no-drop policy? Will victims be subpoenaed to testify? What happens when a victim fails to comply with a subpoena? Prosecutors must insure that any written policies retain sufficient flexibility to meet the individual safety needs of victims.
The Violence Against Women Program at APRI is gathering policies and protocols from prosecutors across the country. Samples are available from various sizes and types of jurisdictions, and program attorneys can help you with the difficult task of molding the sample policies to fit your jurisdiction.
To request sample policies, or to share yours with other prosecutors’ offices, please check our Web site or contact us at 703-549-4253.
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