Panel to Study Need for Domestic Violence Courts

An outcry over the closure of a courtroom that judges in West Covina had set aside to try domestic violence cases spurred the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to call for a study of the need for such courtrooms throughout Los Angeles County.

Supervisors approved a motion asking judges, law enforcement officials and domestic violence experts to meet within a month and report back within 60 days with a plan to address the need for domestic violence courts.

After four years, judges at the Citrus Municipal Court disbanded the domestic violence court in February, dispersing the cases among eight courtrooms. Victim advocates told supervisors Tuesday that the judges were wrong to close a courtroom heralded in 1995 by the county grand jury as a model that had curbed recidivism among batterers.

“The closing down of this domestic violence court at a time when other courts are just beginning to adopt the practice is an act of demolition,” said Darby Mangen, president of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of the National Organization for Women.

The aim of such specialty courts is consistent sentencing, with a single judge also acting as a probation officer to ensure that convicted abusers comply with their sentences, advocates said.

Presiding Judge Rolf Treu said the judges now feel they can do just as well with the cases spread among eight jurists.

He said the decision in part was motivated by the district attorney’s decision to assign less experienced prosecutors to the court, making it harder to operate the courtroom. Treu also argued that having a large number of batterers on probation under a single judge’s supervision was dangerous.

“One judge cannot handle the domestic violence cases before the court,” Treu told supervisors.

The judges acted alone and never told him of any problems, said head Deputy Dist. Atty. Frank Sundstedt, who supervises prosecutors at the courthouse. “I believe it was a valuable court when it existed,” he said.