Background

The Courts Pilot Projects addresses the findings of a ground-breaking series of seven articles in the  Toronto Star in 1996. In these articles, a team of journalists  individually tracked over 70 woman abuse cases through the criminal justice system. The articles clearly identified that the vast majority of woman abuse cases were dropped or withdrawn during the court process due to great difficulty in successfully prosecuting these cases. This left offenders virtually untouched.

Charging of abusers in cases of woman abuse is now in the hands of the police and not the woman (mandatory arrest policy).  However, once charges are laid by the police, and the case moves into prosecution, the onus for successful prosecution is put back on the shoulders of the victim. Due to consistent use of a "Best Evidence Rule", most trials relied on the victim witness testimony.  Rarely was other evidence that could corroborate the assault collected, or if collected, entered into the record.  This practice resulted in a situation where due to the pressures, threats, fear and intimidation experienced by so many women at the hands of abusive partners, the majority of women outright refused to testify or recanted (changed) their story from what they had originally told the police.

These inconsistencies between the approaches taken by the police and the prosecution mean that more and more assault charges are laid by police, with equally increasing numbers of cases being withdrawn and or dropped in the prosecution phase.

The Pilot Projects

The pilot project model was refined through a collaborative process of consultation and discussion.  The major components of the two pilot project models include the following

1) a special arrangement for 'first offenders' pleading guilty to low level offences (in North York);

2) a specialized and integrated approach to the prosecution of all domestic violence cases (in Old City Hall) by police and crown attorneys who work together to collect additional evidence beyond the statement of the victim. Therefore, if a victim recants or changes her story, the additional evidence is submitted to prove the assault;

3) the provision of seats in intervention programs for offenders mandated by the Pilot Courts (in North York). These programs are provided by community agencies that demonstrate a commitment to following Accountability Standards and Guidelines approved by the Metro Woman Abuse Council. These programs are cost shared by the offender on a sliding scale basis.

4) a commitment on the part of both pilot projects to work with others in the community responding to woman abuse through a co-ordinated and collaborative process.

I. North York

The project targets first time offenders where there is no significant /visible injury to the person abused.

Cases are screened by the Crown Attorneys, who identify those eligible for the Pilot court. Women victims are given information cards by the police which urge the woman to contact the Victim Witness Assistance Program at the Courthouse. Cases are then also screened through the  victim witness co-ordinator's individual contact with victims.  These identified cases are directed to attend the specialized court.

At the court, a group of both the men and their partners are introduced to the project. The women then go to a different room as a group, and meet with a Crown Attorney.  There is group discussion and, most importantly, each woman has an opportunity to talk about what she wants out of the court process.

If an individual before the court on abuse charges agrees to plead guilty, and assuming his partner is agreeable, the court will accept the guilty plea.  His plea will be entered and he will get a series of court orders from the judge.  The orders will be Bail Conditions which will include mandated attendance at an intervention program for batterers.  His Bail orders will also be changed to allow him to reside with his partner.  It is specified that if his partner feels threatened or afraid she should contact Police immediately and the Bail condition can be changed to get him out of the house.

While the women are speaking with the Crown Attorney and Victim Witness Co-ordinator, the men have the opportunity to meet with the centralized intake staff person, provided by the Metro Woman Abuse Council, who is responsible for assigning individuals to the intervention programs. As the men meet with the centralized Intake staff they begin to decide if they will plead guilty and if so, they are assigned to an appropriate agency. Currently, there are ten community agencies providing intervention programs that men may be referred to, including a range of ethno-specific agencies with various language and ethno-cultural capabilities.

Once all of the women have had an opportunity to identify what they want, the full court reconvenes. At this point those charged who are willing to plead guilty and enter the program appear before the judge and are mandated to attend the already identified intervention program. 

The offender is then given new bail conditions which cite that he is expected to attend the full program of sixteen weeks. During this time, the partner  will be contacted at least four times by the community agency   to monitor her safety and to offer her support and services. While the offender is on extended bail and mandated into the intervention program, any threats to the partner's safety, and/or breaches of the bail conditions, are reported by intervention program staff and  handled by the local police.

At the conclusion of the intervention program, assuming that all has gone smoothly, with no risk or threat to the woman, the offender will reappear before the specialized court and he will receive his final sentence.  The final disposition will be a conditional discharge with one year probation.

II. OLD CITY HALL- K Court

All domestic violence cases from three police divisions: 11, 14, and 52 are directed to "K Court" in Old City Hall. 

This court is staffed by a team of dedicated Crown Attorneys who prosecute all of the domestic violence cases.  Once a charge is laid by the police, police use a special domestic violence reporting form and attempt to have the victim come to the police station for an interview which is video taped by the police.

The Crown attorneys in K court routinely ask for additional pieces of evidence beyond the testimony of the victim including copies of the 911 call (if there was such a call) medical records, photographs of the injuries, any witness statements etc.

The investigation of the case includes close co-operation between the crown attorneys and police to attempt to gather and introduce as much evidence as is possible. 

The woman victim is contacted by the Victim Witness Assistance Program and encouraged to come in for an interview, and be oriented to the court process.  Referrals to community agencies and services are provided to the victim.

Once the trial takes place, if the judge mandated an intervention program for the offender, he will be referred to an intervention program by his probation officer.

Conclusion