NCJ Number
169683
Date Published
1995
Length
122 pages
Annotation
The first 2 years of operation of the Family Violence Court (FVC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada were evaluated with respect to case characteristics and the extent to which the court met its objectives of reducing case attrition, achieving an average case processing time of 3 months, and providing more consistent and appropriate sentencing.
Abstract
Outcomes were compared with those of nonspecialized courts using data on 4,080 cases in the FVC, 215 cases that originated in the FVC but were disposed in the Court of Queen's Bench, 571 cases of crimes against persons disposed in the general court, and 85 family violence cases that were appealed in the first 2 years of FVC. Results indicated that FVC continued to meet two central goals in its second year despite the 48 percent increase in caseload. The average processing time in FVC was 3.5 months; at the end of the 18-month study period 90 percent of all cases that entered the court had been disposed. Findings also indicated that sentencing remained rigorous. The FVC had the lowest attrition rate of all three courts. Findings suggested that the FVC has had an important role in eliminating the double standard of justice that was formerly perceived to apply to domestic assault cases. Results also suggest that FVC provides a setting in which the victim/witness has more say in the proceedings and that this involvement affects sentencing. The analysis also indicated that the Court of Appeal relates to the FVC in a manner consistent with its relationship to all lower courts in the province. Tables, appended policy and data coding information, and 8 references