WUNRN
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RISK ASSESSMENT COURT BENCH GUIDE
The Gender Fairness Implementation
Committee of the Minnesota State Supreme Court has developed a Domestic
Violence Risk Assessment Bench Guide. This bench guide uses the work of various
researchers who have developed lethality and reoffense assessment tools. The
guide has a list of eleven questions focusing on risk factors. Questions
include; “Does alleged perpetrator have access to a firearm?” “Has alleged
perpetrator ever attempted to strangle or choke the victim?” The bench guide
also contains a section entitled “How To Use The Domestic Violence Risk
Assessment Bench Guide.” The “how to use” lists include how to obtain
information regarding the risk factors from various legal personnel and how to
provide victims information on the risk factors. The bench guide is for use “at
all stages of family, Order for Protection, civil or criminal” cases involving
domestic violence. A copy of the bench guide is included with this notice.
At the end of December 2009,
the Minnesota Supreme Court distributed the bench guide to all judges, referees
and magistrates who work for the state court system. How each judge uses the
bench guide is being left to the discretion of the individual judge and/or
local jurisdiction.
The bench guide can be a
valuable tool for the courts. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the
guide and to promote the use of the guide with your local legal system.
Following are a few recommendations for promoting the guide use:
1. Distribute the bench guide to other practitioners that
are in your local court system. For example, prosecutors, probation officers,
custody evaluators, private attorneys, GALs, etc. If the judge will be
looking for practitioners to provide information about the various risk
factors, the practitioners should know this and be prepared.
2. Meet with local judges to discuss using the guide.
Involve other practitioners in the meeting.
3. Offer to bring in trainers for understanding risk
assessment and how to use the guide. MCBW can connect you with trainers
and let you know about upcoming assessment trainings.
4. Promote discussion on the risk assessment at local
multi-disciplinary task forces, criminal justice coordinating councils,
etc.
5. If there is discussion on new court approaches (e.g.
Blueprint project) bring the bench guide to those discussions.
6. Consider a media story on the bench guide and its
potential for positive change.
7. Record information on cases where judges are using the
guide and/or on cases where use of the guide might have been helpful. Report
that information back to MCBW to be compiled.
The risk assessment bench
guide can be a good tool for the courts but advocacy programs should be
involved in pushing for its appropriate use.
If you have other ideas for
how to promote the use of the guide, please share them. If you have questions
or have experiences with the bench guide that you can share, please contact me.
Liz Richards
Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women
651-646-6177 ext. 25
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