ABSTRACT
Many states have recently passed new legislation to deal with spouse abuse, including several which have created a new criminal offense: domestic violence. This study examines all 1980 charges under Ohio’s new domestic violence law in a large misdemeanor court and concludes that the creation of a new offense category does not cause major changes in measurable court outcomes. For example, 73% of victims who filed charges dropped them before a verdict was reached. This figure is extremely high. Combined with the large number of victims who never file, it suggests that most abusers do not go through a complete trial.
Moreover, even when victims persevere and the batterer is found guilty, very little happens to him. Sixty-four percent did not spend even one day in jail, less than 10% were sentenced to alternative programs, and 27% were neither jailed nor placed on probation. Even when found guilty, most abusers are neither punished nor offered help.
This study makes two recommendations. The first suggests a dual system whereby victims of domestic violence are provided with both criminal and social service alternatives. The second recommendation encourages the courts to experiment with counseling programs for batterers both as a condition for dismissal of charges and as a condition for probation when convicted.
