Impacts of Institutional and Contextual Factors on Protection Order Decision-Making

• In Event: Empirical Research on Civil, Criminal, and Family Court Practices Involving Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases

Abstract

Domestic violence civil protection orders are an increasingly important part of the legal response to domestic and sexual violence in the United States. Arizona is unique in the U.S. in that victims may file for a protection order at any court, rather than being limited by jurisdictional and residency requirements. This state of affairs allows for an in-depth analysis of victim decision-making not possible in any other state (both whether and where to file for an order). Using data from 1,400 protection order cases filed in municipal courts in Arizona in 2015, as well as a series of 80 interviews with judges, court staff, police officers, legal advocates, and petitioners, we analyze whether institutional and contextual factors are associated with filing patterns and case outcomes. We discuss our results in the context of improving access to justice and increasing efficiency of case processing for courts.

Authors

• Alesha Durfee, Arizona State University

• Paul Thomas, Mesa Municipal Court

• Brenda Uekert, National Center for State Courts