Hitting Back

This work is a guide for prosecutors, police investigators, groups and individuals involved in working with domestic violence victims, and anyone who would like to know more about how domestic violence cases are prosecuted. It details proven procedures that significantly increased the arrest and conviction rates of offenders with specific case examples.

I suppose we have all heard the expression it takes a village to raise a child. Accordingly, it also takes a village to combat domestic violence in the criminal justice system. The reason it takes a village is that there are several fronts: Investigation, prosecution, post-conviction supervision, community outreach, community awareness, and availability of victim services. Successfully combating domestic violence is will not succeed unless you are combating it on all fronts. Prosecutors are uniquely positioned to work with all the agencies involved. The prosecutor is the hub of the wagon wheel; the other agencies are the spokes.

Successfully combatting domestic violence in the criminal justice system means overcoming uncooperative victims. This book breaks that task down into five steps and, with the use of case examples, explains how to do it. The first three chapters discuss my experiences as a prosecutor and important lessons I learned through the years. This includes how I learned to do the job, the unique challenges presented by domestic violence cases, and how to overcome them. I also include examples from specific cases I prosecuted. Chapter Four addresses whether domestic violence victims should be compelled to appear in court. Chapter Five is about the roles other agencies play. It is my hope that this book will serve as a resource for other prosecutors, law enforcement personnel, anyone else that works in any other domestic violence field, and anyone who wants to learn more about how domestic violence cases should be handled.