{"@type": "dcat:Dataset", "accessLevel": "restricted public", "bureauCode": ["011:21"], "contactPoint": {"@type": "vcard:Contact", "fn": "Open Data Office of Justice Programs (USDOJ)", "hasEmail": "mailto:opendata@usdoj.gov"}, "dataQuality": false, "description": "The goal of this study was to identify factors that\r\ninfluence whether city misdemeanor domestic violence cases in which\r\nbatterers are arrested by police result in dismissals, acquittals, or\r\nconvictions in the courts, and how these cases are processed. The\r\nresearchers sought to examine factors that influence court officials'\r\ndecision-making in domestic violence cases, as well as factors that\r\ninfluence victim and witness reluctance in bringing batterers to\r\nsuccessful adjudication. In Part 1 researchers merged pretrial\r\nservices data with information from police and prosecutors' reports in\r\nthe urban area under study to answer the following questions: (1) What\r\nis the rate of dismissals, acquittals, and convictions for misdemeanor\r\ncourt cases and what are the conditions of these sentences? (2) What\r\nfactors in court cases are significantly related to whether the\r\ndisposition is a dismissal, acquittal, or conviction, and how are\r\nthese cases processed? In Part 2, judges, prosecutors, and public\r\ndefenders were asked detailed questions about their level of knowledge\r\nabout, attitudes toward, and self-reported behaviors regarding the\r\nprocessing of domestic violence cases to find out: (1) What roles do\r\nlegal and extra-legal factors play in decision-makers' self-reported\r\nbehaviors and attitudes? (2) How do decision-makers rate victim\r\nadvocate and batterer treatment programs? (3) How do court\r\nprofessionals view the victim's role in the court process? and (4) To\r\nwhat degree do court professionals report victim-blaming attitudes and\r\nexperiences? For Part 3 researchers used a stratified random sample to\r\nselect court cases of misdemeanor domestic violence that would be\r\ntranscribed and used for a content analysis to examine: (1) Who speaks\r\nin court and how? and (2) What is considered relevant by different\r\ncourt players? In Parts 4-103 victim surveys and interviews were\r\nadministered to learn about battered women's experiences in both their\r\npersonal lives and the criminal processing system. Researchers sought\r\nto answer the following questions: (1) How do victim/witnesses\r\nperceive their role in the prosecution of their abusers? (2) What\r\nfactors inhibit them from pursuing prosecution? (3) What factors might\r\nhelp them pursue prosecution? and (4) How consistent are the\r\nvictims'/witnesses' demographic and psychological profiles with\r\nexisting research in this area? Domestic violence victims attending\r\narraignment between January 1 and December 31 of 1997 were asked to\r\ncomplete surveys to identify their concerns about testifying against\r\ntheir partners and to evaluate the effectiveness of the court system\r\nin dealing with domestic violence cases (Part 4). The disposition of\r\neach case was subsequently determined by a research team member's\r\nexamination of defendants' case files and/or court computer\r\nfiles. Upon case closure victims who had both completed a survey and\r\nindicated a willingness to be interviewed were contacted to\r\nparticipate in an interview (Parts 5-103). Variables in Part 1,\r\nPretrial Services Data, include prior criminal history, current\r\ncharges, case disposition, sentence, victim testimony, police\r\ntestimony, victim's demeanor at trial, judge's conduct, type of abuse\r\ninvolved, weapons used, injuries sustained, and type of evidence\r\navailable for trial. Demographic variables include age, sex, and race\r\nof defendants, victims, prosecutors, and judges. In Part 2,\r\nProfessional Survey Data, respondents were asked about their tolerance\r\nfor victims and offenders who appeared in court more than once,\r\nactions taken when substance abuse was involved, the importance of\r\ninjuries in making a decision, attitudes toward battered women, the\r\nrole of victim advocates and the police, views on restraining orders,\r\nand opinion on whether arrest is a deterrent. Demographic variables\r\ninclude age, sex, race, marital status, and years of professional\r\nexperience. Variables in Part 3, Court Transcript Data, include number\r\nand type of charges, pleas, reasons for dismissals, types of evidence\r\nsubmitted by prosecutors and defense, substance abuse by victim and\r\ndefendant, living arrangements and number of children of victim and\r\ndefendant, specific type of abuse, injuries sustained, witnesses to\r\ninjuries, police testimony, verdict, and sentence. Demographic\r\nvariables include age and sex of defendant and victim and relationship\r\nof victim and defendant. In Part 4, Victim Survey Data, victims were\r\nasked about their relationship and living arrangements with the\r\ndefendant, concerns about testifying in court, desired outcomes of\r\ncase and punishment for defendant, emotional issues related to abuse,\r\nhealth problems, substance abuse, support networks, other violent\r\ndomestic incidents and injuries, and safety concerns. Part 5 variables\r\nmeasured victims' safety at different stages of the criminal justice\r\nprocess and danger experienced due to further violent incidents,\r\npresence of weapons, and threats of homicide or suicide. Parts 6-103\r\ncontain the qualitative interview data.", "distribution": [{"@type": "dcat:Distribution", "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03010.v1", "title": "Factors Related to Domestic Violence Court Dispositions in a Large Midwestern Urban Area, 1997-1998:  [United States]"}], "identifier": "3817", "issued": "2001-12-14T00:00:00", "keyword": ["battered women", "case processing", "decision making", "disposition (legal)", "domestic violence", "misdemeanor offenses", "offenders", "sentencing", "treatment programs", "urban areas", "victims", "witnesses"], "language": ["eng"], "license": "http://www.usa.gov/publicdomain/label/1.0/", "modified": "2006-03-30T00:00:00", "programCode": ["011:060"], "publisher": {"@type": "org:Organization", "name": "National Institute of Justice", "subOrganizationOf": {"acronym": "OJP", "id": 22, "name": "Office of Justice Programs", "parentOrganization": {"acronym": "DOJ", "id": 10, "name": "Department of Justice"}, "parentOrganizationID": 10}}, "rights": "These data are restricted due to the increased risk of violation of confidentiality of respondent and subject data.", "title": "Factors Related to Domestic Violence Court Dispositions in a Large Midwestern Urban Area, 1997-1998:  [United States]"}