Grand Forks County’s domestic violence court marked more than a year of operation on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
A series of speakers at the county’s administrative building outlined how the court works and how well it has been working since it got up and running in August 2018. It’s the first court of its kind in North Dakota.
According to Community Violence Intervention Center staff, the court doesn’t necessarily mean fewer repeat offenders, but it makes it easier for offenders to get in -- and stay accountable to -- “offender programming,” such as New Choices, a program that aims to help offenders understand more about domestic abuse, reflect on themselves and use better relationship skills.
“It’s just kind of an eye-opener for them,” said Judge Jason McCarthy, one of two district judges who preside over domestic violence court. “Because before, they didn’t really recognize what they were doing was necessarily wrong, and now ... most of them -- 32%, anyway -- seem to understand that it’s a power struggle that they shouldn’t be involved in. They have to have a relationship on equal footing and respect the wishes of their partner.”
Intervention center staff said people who entered the domestic violence program in the past year completed it in 245 days. That’s 14.93% lower than the 288-day average recorded in 2017.
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Domestic violence court is an addition to the end of the judicial process. After they’ve been convicted, domestic abusers are required to show up to hearings at the new court at least three times while they work their way through New Choices. They’re also required to have or be seeking full-time employment or schooling, plus whatever other stipulations go along with their sentence.
A judge determines how well offenders are adhering to those terms and can, for instance, toss someone back in jail briefly if arrested on new domestic violence charges or add a sentence of 20 hours of community service if payment is not made for New Choices or other offender programming.
Before the court was enacted, offenders only had to show up to court if they violated the terms of their sentence, and failing to follow through with those plans meant a weeks- or months-long wait before a court appearance.
“Now, if someone’s non-compliant, I can just email the clerks, say that we need so-and-so to appear at the soonest available date, and we can just get them in,” said Max Kollman, a DV court project coordinator.
The new court means convicted domestic abusers end up in the New Choices program sooner, and police are called to the homes of people who’ve gone through the program 68 percent less than beforehand, according to staff members.
Offenders are also pointed toward Job Service North Dakota, a state agency that aims to help residents find work -- an often-difficult prospect for people with criminal records.
McCarthy pointed to a few Minnesota counties that have enacted their own domestic violence courts. About two hours west on Hwy. 2, 15.78% of people convicted of domestic violence re-offended. That’s significantly lower than the 30% to 40% national average.
And, the thinking goes, less domestic violence means fewer police calls and arrests, which means less jail time and, in turn, savings for taxpayers. Staff at Minnesota’s Clay County, the second in the state to establish a domestic violence court, estimated that the program saved about $340,000 per year in other expenses.
