In Hennepin County, the family court created a project to address several key and unmet needs. To ensure family safety, the court began screening for and addressing domestic violence in custody/visitation and child support cases. The project also looked to enhance access and improve the court experience for all litigants. It specifically sought to rebuild trust with the Native American community who were not accessing the court system. After judicial listening sessions, the court hired a tribal state liaison and introduced a number of changes to improve the process.
Associate Justice Anne K. McKeig of the Minnesota Supreme Court talks about the importance of judicial leadership and having a diverse bench. She shares her experience on creating change within the courtroom and the justice system. As part of our national work providing expert assistance to courts and communities looking to implement or improve specialized, court-based responses to domestic violence, this video was made for the Judicial Engagement Network, which works to strengthen judicial leadership on domestic violence.
Litigants involved in domestic violence cases often report being overwhelmed by the legal process—when the same incident gives rise to simultaneous cases in civil and criminal court, litigants may be shuffled between multiple courtrooms and courthouses. In order to support victim safety and meaningful accountability, court systems should work towards providing a holistic, coordinated response based on comprehensive information about all legal cases involving the parties before them.
Domestic violence cases are often described by judges and court staff as having one of the highest potentials for violence in and around the courthouse. While courts may implement general court security best practices, domestic violence cases present uniquely dangerous risks towards courthouse safety, for both litigants and court staff.
Coming to the courthouse and participating in hearings can be confusing and intimidating for anyone but is especially so for domestic violence survivors. They may have significant concerns for their and their children’s emotional and physical safety; may be contending with the effects of recent trauma; and may have difficulty accessing the supportive resources that they need. It’s essential for court teams to proactively design and implement strategies to support survivors’ safety and well-being so they can meaningfully participate in the legal process.
In the latest episode of our podcast series, our host Juan Carlos Areán from Futures Without Violence speaks with Lisa Nitsch, Director of Training and Education at House of Ruth in Baltimore, and Tamaris Princi, Director of Abusive Partner Intervention Programs at the Urban Resource Institute in New York about holistic wraparound services for abusive partners. They address issues surrounding accountability, understanding the motives and needs of abusive partners, and centering survivor voices in developing these programs.
Host Juan Carlos Areán from Futures Without Violence speaks with Aldo Seoane and Greg Grey Cloud, co-founders of Wica Agli, and Jeremy NeVilles-Sorell, the director of the National Native Coalition of Men’s Programs, about their abusive partner intervention program in South Dakota and their national work to improve safety and prevent domestic and sexual violence within the indigenous community.
Across the country, courts utilize compliance calendars in both civil and criminal domestic violence proceedings to ensure that defendants and respondents adhere to court-ordered conditions, including no new arrests, abusive partner intervention or other program mandates, supervised visitation or safe exchange, parenting plans, and child support. This guide outlines best practices to help courts develop or enhance compliance calendars.
Juan Carlos Areán of Futures Without Violence leads a discussion on the importance of centering survivor voices in abusive partner intervention work both at the community-based and system level. They offer strategies to safely center survivor voices and experiences in the work, such as hosting multi-disciplinary case staffings, offering surrogate victim impact sessions, and including survivors in the curricula review and staff training processes.
Specialized domestic violence courts have shown promise in keeping victims safe, supporting offenders in changing their behavior, and repairing harm to individuals and communities. Some tribal communities have implemented these specialized courts and dockets to address the high rates of violence that Native women experience, oftentimes by non-Native perpetrators.
