ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: The District Attorney’s (DA’s) office bears the sole responsibility of prosecuting adult offenders for any and all domestic violence offenses. The Domestic Violence Unit (DV Unit) handles the prosecution of misdemeanor crimes involving assault family violence and family violence felonies such as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, strangulation family violence, continuous violence against the family, burglaries and kidnappings (where the intent is to commit a family violence assault), and domestic violence homicides. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant attorney is the chief of the DV Unit. Our goal is to hold offenders accountable for their actions and to keep victims safe. Our work is essential because these cases warrant extra attention and require specialized legal knowledge to pursue, since these cases usually occur behind closed doors and it is not uncommon for victims and other witnesses to be absent or antagonistic towards the DA’s Office during the prosecution of the case. The DV Unit prepares domestic violence cases in a way that greatly increases the likelihood that prosecutors can take them to trial without the participation of the victim.

The grant attorney supervises five attorneys who are all specially trained and have a great deal of practical experience in dealing with issues inherent in domestic violence cases. The grant attorney provides daily training to the attorneys and staff members whom she supervises along with the rest of the prosecutors in the DA’s office. The grant attorney also trains law enforcement agencies, focusing on report writing, locating and collecting evidence and witness statements, evaluating domestic violence cases at the scene of the crime, and courtroom testimony. The grant attorney is also in charge of training law enforcement entities on how to interview domestic violence victims at the scene via video recording. Due to the close proximity between crime victims and their offenders in domestic violence cases, the prosecutor’s office must provide a more immediate response to safeguard the victim and build a solid case for prosecution. The DA’s DV Unit conducts home-visitation outreach to victims of domestic violence seven days a week within twenty-four hours of an offender’s arrest. Meeting victims face-to-face allows prosecutors the opportunity to learn more about the crime and provide information about local resources and safety planning. Also, shortly after an arrest is made, the DV Unit assimilates the police report, physical evidence, home-visitation report, on-scene video recording, photographs, and any 911 call(s) made to police. The District Attorney and grant attorney, work exclusively on domestic violence cases, preparing the case for prosecution and making recommendations on how to successfully resolve the case. The protocols followed by the Domestic Violence Unit allow the prosecution team to more aggressively and efficiently advocate for the victim, with or without his/her cooperation. The grant-funded Unit acts as the epicenter for evidence generation for all domestic violence related cases at the DA’s office. This includes ordering and obtaining the following: 911 call recordings, photographs, videotapes, judgments of prior crimes committed by defendants (including prior AFV judgments used to indict enhanced cases), medical records, and other business records. All of these items, obtained by the grant-funded clerk and investigator, are invaluable in assessing cases and proving them in court.

Request for FY20:

      CJD Request: $148,751.85

      County Match:$144,751.85

     Total Request: $293,503.70

FY19 VAWA Grant Application reviewed and approved by CC: 1/22/2018 item #17

FY19 VAWA Grant Award reviewed and approved by CC: 10/15/2018 item #12