The Ada County Domestic Violence Court in Boise, Idaho, was created to improve the handling of some of the justice system’s most challenging cases: those involving violence among intimate partners. The court was designated a national Domestic Violence Mentor Court by the federal Office on Violence Against Women for its groundbreaking innovations, which include services to improve victim safety and defendant monitoring. Among many enhancements, the court makes an effort to better understand families, victims, and offenders by using evidence-based risk assessment tools to inform its decisions. The court has also expedited the handling of cases, allowing it to link victims more swiftly to safety services and offenders to treatment while minimizing the harm that a prolonged court case can have on families. This video provides an overview of how the court functions and features interviews with the judges, lawyers, victim advocates, and probation staff associated with the court, as well as the Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court.
