Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Criminal prosecution of domestic violence offenses: an investigation of factors predictive of court outcomes
Other Titles:	Criminal Justice and Behavior
Authors:	Feder, Lynette Henning, Kris
Keywords:	Specialist courts;Criminal justice responses;Policing
Year:	2005
Publisher:	American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology
Citation:	32 (6), December 2005
Notes:	This article presents a US study that looked at the range of decisions made during the adjudication process (such as pretrial release, prosecution, disposition and sentencing) and female defendants in cases of domestic violence offences. It used a sample of 4,178 defendants who were arrested for a misdemeanour or felony domestic violence offence assigned to a single specialised domestic violence court for a year (which included male and female defendants). An overview of literature and research on predictors of court decisions with domestic violence cases (including a table summary) is included. Research has been done on legal and non-legal factors that influenced police decisions on whether to arrest in the context of domestic violence but few studies have researched prosecutorial and judicial decision making with regard to domestic violence offences in the US. Findings identified the suspect and offence characteristics that had the greatest effect on court decisions. Logistic regression analyses showed that the pretrial release decisions were influenced by legal factors such as the defendant’s prior criminal history, type of charge, and the severity of the offence (such as victim’s injury, weapon use). However, non-legal variables like the defendant’s gender and income independently predicted the use of cash bonds in contrast to offenders being released on their own recognisance. Sentencing by the judge seemed to have been more influenced by legal factors such as the defendant’s prior criminal history. It found that prosecutors’ decision to pursue a case was associated with the defendant’s race (primarily African Americans) even after controlling for other factors and characteristics. A significantly higher percentage of women (29%) were involved in a dual arrest than were men (8%). Only 34% of dually arrested defendants were prosecuted compared to 86% of those on single arrests. However, dually arrested defendants were more likely than singly arrested defendants to be convicted once prosecuted. Of all those arrested with domestic violence offence in this specialised court, 56% either pleaded guilty, were found guilty or were placed on diversion.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14073
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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