Domestic violence courts can produce benefits if they are designed and managed well; an effective domestic violence case management system is critical.
Some of the major influences on how courts manage and adjudicate domestic violence cases include mandatory arrest statutes, victimless prosecution policies, specialized police and prosecutor domestic violence units, and full faith and credit for protection orders. Major challenges to establishing effective case management systems for domestic violence cases involve jurisdictional limitations; lack of capacity to identify, link, and track cases; and the need to coordinate court operations with initiatives and resources of other agencies and the community. Potential benefits of domestic violence courts and the development of domestic violence courts within an integrated systems model are considered. Components of the model are identified as interagency collaboration, comprehensive victim advocacy, effective pre-arrest and post-arrest procedures, multi-agency intake, integrated case processing, effective prosecution and defense, standardized treatment programs, monitoring and judicial review, and integrated data collection and distribution. 20 endnotes