Nearly 100 years ago, a woman was beaten by her husband on the evening of her wedding. She lived at a time when there was shame at being a victim of domestic abuse and no resources for help. Domestic abuse was a private family matter. The young woman soon became pregnant. The abuse continued. With the help of her family, she left her husband and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her young son. The child, Gerald Ford, became the President of the United States.
Domestic violence is not an issue in which judges should just strive to be politically correct. Lives are sometimes at stake. Children can be damaged by exposure to domestic violence. While courts are far better at understanding how to be more effective in dealing with domestic violence, we have a long way to go. That is in part why the American Judges Association, thanks to the leadership of Judge Libby Hines from Michigan and Judge Mike Cicconetti from Ohio, is developing a distance learning program for judges in how to better understand domestic violence and how to be more effective in dealing with it. Filming of these programs has already begun, and we hope to go “live” next fall.
In the meantime, there was a recent headline in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel which read, “Broward judge sets whimsical conditions in a domestic case where no blows were struck” The story went viral on the Internet and news media nationally. Rather than editorialize whether the bail conditions were appropriate, perhaps a better learning experience for all of us is to take a few minutes and watch the entire proceeding on this link.
My suggestion is you do not read the article and just watch the entire proceeding first. It is only a few minutes. Learning can be a collective enterprise. Post your comments and we will all benefit.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/fl-flowers-food-bowling-20120207,0,947444.story
blog.amjudges.org 
The Broward County, Florida judge who ordered flowers, a card, dinner and bowling was very creative, and did the right thing in my estimation.
We have to be flexible and remember that every domestic violence case is unique, and different cases call for different remedies or solutions, if you will.
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The most concerning thing about this court proceeding to me is the journalist’s comment that the judge is “perceptive.”
I do think the judge had a pleasant manner and listened carefully to the victim, but it is not perceptive to overlook the report of strangling made to police officers regarding this incident, to characterize it as “minor,” or to skip over the fact that this is the second apparent report of DV in this relationship. Also, the judge was apparently unaware that statistics indicate that marriage counseling in DV situations actually increases the risk of further DV.
To me, this video highlights the ongoing need for effective DV training for all judicial officers.
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I agree with Catherine. To characterize the report as minor when it involved strangulation and a cocked fist is very troubling, especially in light of a prior incident as well. It is quite disappointing to see such a response to DV from the bench.
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I’m sorry, but I think this judge got it all wrong. This woman was frightened enough to call the police and now the judge is going to release the defendant on his recognizance, and not only is he going to allow the defendant to have contact with the victim, he is mandating what he apparently perceives as the recipe for marital bliss. Furthermore, how does he intend to enforce these conditions? The judge seems to be totally ignoring the allegation that the defendant had his hands on the woman’s neck and the court received no input from the prosecutor. This was a horrible decision. I pray that the woman wasn’t further victimized.
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The perfect example for the need of D.V. training.
We must remember this was the arraignment, not a conviction and sentencing.
Training Judges will help us in setting the bond conditions.
I don’t know the laws in Florida and perhaps the Judge was limited under constraints of law if the victim waived a protection order or “no contact” request.
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I was also concerned that this decision was part of the arraignment hearing and that the judge put the victim in the “hot seat” and based his ruling on her input rather than the police report and level of violence. I believe he did trivialize the assault and I think his comments indicate a lack of understanding into the complexities of relationships with incidents of domestic violence or ongoing battering.
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I don’t disagree with what the judge did in this case, even though a case like this is ripe with possbilities for misreporting and misinterpretation, despite his careful clarification at the end of the recording.
First, our DV training suggests that we should show respect for the victim’s opinion, who is typically in the best position to assess the level of risk, and she wanted her husband to come home.
Second, the reporting was that he placed his hand on her neck and raised his fist – it’s not clear that this should be evaluated as a case of threatened or attempted strangulation or choking.
Finally, I’m reluctant to second-guess these cases where I’m unable to see the report and read the original allegations – a frequent problem in the reporting of courtroom proceedings.
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I find this video very troubling. Domestic violence occurred: stangulation, hands on her neck, cocked fist, second allegation. It seemed that the judge did not considered the above and went straight to the idea that the vistim was not hit. He asked her if she was afraid, and she said no. That was a step in the right direction. The question, however, is was she afraid when these things occurred. The idea that the woman loves her husband is irrelevant. We all love our abusers. That is why we are with them.
A good meal out and bowling does not address for the couple how to help this man keep his hands off his wife in a violent manner. This judge had an opportunity to address the problem. The woman came to the courts for a solution, not a band aid.
I am grateful the judges in our jurisdiction have better training than this judge.
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I’m glad I live in an area of Minnesota that takes all forms of abuse seriously. You are correct, the judicial system on the whole needs to be educated that you don’t have to be in a bloody heap on the courtroom floor to have undergone abuse. Emotional and verbal abuse does more damage than physical abuse. Broken bones and bruises heal within weeks. The emotions take years, even a whole lifetime to heal. Abusers are calculating, they don’t want to leave physical evidence of what they are doing, that way they can play the saint and prove that the woman is crazy. She can and does lose everything. What makes this more insidious, is there are areas of the country, and even the State of Minnesota, that are “Father’s Rights” areas, verbal and emotional abuse allegations are laughed out of court, because father’s can do no wrong. They are on a pedestal, even if they’re abusers. I should know, I’ve gone through this. This judge in FL makes me sick…this woman will end up dead at the hands of her husband.
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It appears this judge was basing his decision on the report that the defendant did not strike the victim, and because she stated she is not in fear of the defendant.
I also have concerns that the defendant “placed his arm around the victim’s neck with his hand cocked in a fist”. We don’t have enough information here to know if this was strangulation, but it was certainly a hold that would be difficult to get out of so if he had hit her, she could have been badly injured. This was not a case of minimal violence. This was a case of significant threat and possible strangulation, and there WAS assault involved because the act of grabbing her arm, pushing her on the couch and restraining her IS assault.
Frequently victims of domestic violence will recant, and approximately 70-80% of domestic violence victims who are strangled will recant. One reason is certainly because many victims love their abusers. Another reason is that those victims are extremely fearfull of their abusers. They know that if they testify truthfully about the assault that the abuser may still be released and that they are in danger of an even worse beating the next time. Those who are strangled know that they are in danger of being killed. Also, in this situation, the victim may have only called the police once before, but that does not mean this was “only” the second time she had been threatend.
I don’t know the laws in Florida, but in Minnesota, domestic violence victims don’t press charges against their assailants; the city or state is responsible for pressing charges based on evidence at the scene and the report of the victim and/or bystanders, police can make a “probable cause” arrest, and the victim is considered to be a witness. All of that is done so the victim does not have to accuse the abuser. It takes the victim out of the loop so the abuser has less opportunity to manipulate the process and there is an increased chance that the abuser will be prosecuted for the crime. Crimes where victims recant can still be successfully prosecuted when there is enough additional evidence.
I think the judge in this situation wanted to do the right thing, and I hope he receives this feedback so he can reconsider his decision making in domestic violence cases.
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