Judicial oversight of domestic violence

Protecting victims of domestic violence requires the coordination of numerous agencies from police and prosecutors, and advocates for both victims and batters, to the courts. Beginning in 1999, the Judicial Oversight Demonstration (JOD) Initiative, a five-year, federally funded project, tested the effectiveness of strong judicial oversight of domestic violence cases with a coordinated community response. The JOD Initiative was carried out at three demonstration sites: Boston, MA, Ann Arbor, MI, and Milwaukee, WI. The Initiative was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and its National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and managed by the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera). In June, Vera published a four-part series, Enhancing Responses to Domestic Violence , reporting on the JOD project.

Demonstration sites:

• Dorchester (Boston), MA
• Washtenaw County (Ann Arbor), MI
• Milwaukee County, WI

Vera's four-part series:

Engaging Respondents in Civil Restraining Orders: A New Approach to Victim Safety (pdf, 280KB, 11p.). Discusses the Dorchester Community Outreach Worker Program to enhance victim safety in restraining orders.

Judicial Review Hearings: Keeping Courts on the Case (pdf, 325KB, 18p.). Covers post-conviction compliance hearings and graduated sanctions and rewards.

Prosecuting Witness Tampering, Bail Jumping, and Battering from Behind Bars (pdf,306KB, 18p.). How prosecutors in Milwaukee act on pretrial intimidation and abuse.

Pretrial Innovations: Supporting Safety and Case Integrity (pdf, 268KB, 15p.). Describes the Domestic Violence Commissioner's Court, the Pretrial Monitoring Program, and the Victim and Children's Waiting Room in Milwaukee.