NCJ Number
97704
Date Published
1985
Length
18 pages
Annotation
To determine the effects of an Ohio law which established the crime of domestic violence and a range of procedures and remedies for the victims of violence caused by family or other household members, all relevant cases recorded on the 1980 municipal (misdemeanor) court docket in Hamilton County were examined.
Abstract
Of the 1,458 cases filed with the court, 95 percent involved charges of domestic violence and 5 percent charges of assault. A total of 1,142 of the cases were dismissed. Of these, 1,061 were dismissed either at the request of the victim or because the victim did not show up in court. Only 250 cases proceeded through the trial process; 84 defendants were found not guilty and 166 defendants were found guilty. Sixty-four percent did not spend even 1 day in jail, less than 10 percent were sentenced to alternative programs, and 27 percent were neither jailed nor placed on probation. Thus, results demonstrate that if the goal of new domestic violence legislation is to put large numbers of batterers in jail or prison, the simple addition of a new section of the penal code may not be the answer. Courts should experiment with counseling programs for batterers both as a condition for dismissal of charges and as a condition of probation when convicted. Finally, a dual system should be instituted to provide victims of domestic violence with both criminal and social service alternatives. Five tables and 42 references are included. (Author abstract modified)