Prosecution Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies: Anticipating and Meeting Defense Claims, Final Report

摘要

The criminal justice system has only recently begun to respond to domestic violence as a public offense. Under common law, a man could lawfully beat his wife because he was legally responsible for her actions and therefore could 'correct' her behavior through chastisement. Although wife beating was declared illegal in all states in 1920; domestic violence was largely ignored. Domestic violence historically has been viewed as a family matter, out of the purview of the criminal justice system. It was dealt with primarily through attempts at mediation or reconciliation, rather than through punishment. Prosecuting attorneys possess almost complete discretion to set priorities for the use of court resources to try criminal cases. While some prosecutors may make their decisions about charging based on the likelihood of conviction, attorneys are bound by their ethical obligation to file only those charges, which can reasonably be substantiated by admissible evidence at trial. To date, studies of the prosecution of domestic violence cases are limited to charging decisions. No study has examined prosecution or defense strategies in domestic violence cases. Thus, the purpose of this study was to conduct an in-depth, qualitative analysis of the trial strategies used by both the prosecution and defense in domestic violence-related felony cases.