I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3424

To authorize the establishment of domestic violence court systems from 

amounts available for grants to combat violence against women. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 30, 2003

Ms. SOLIS (for herself, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. GINNY BROWNWAITE of Florida, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. STARK, Ms. 

CARSON of Indiana, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. MAJETTE, 

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. NORTON, 

Ms. KILPATRICK, and Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To authorize the establishment of domestic violence court 

systems from amounts available for grants to combat 

violence against women.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Violence 

5 Courts Assistance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Nearly one-third of American women report 

2 being physically or sexually abused by a husband or 

3 boyfriend at some point in their lives. 

4 (2) Family violence costs the nation between 

5 $5,000,000,000 and $10,000,000,000 each year in 

6 medical expenses, police and court costs, shelters 

7 and foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, and non8 productivity. 

9 (3) The Nation’s first specialized domestic vio10 lence court was established in Chicago in the early 

11 1980s to centralize the prosecution of domestic vio12 lence offenders. 

13 (4) There are presently more than 300 domestic 

14 violence courts in at least 23 States nationwide. 

15 (5) Specialized domestic violence courts in sev16 eral communities have resulted in cutting the proc17 essing time of domestic violence, reducing a backlog 

18 of existing domestic violence cases and raising the 

19 conviction rate. 

20 (6) Specialized domestic violence courts allow 

21 judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys to focus 

22 on the intricacies of domestic violence cases, espe23 cially with regards to repeat offenders. 
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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT 

2 SYSTEMS FROM AMOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR 

3 GRANTS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST 

4 WOMEN. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part T of the Omnibus Crime 

6 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (relating to grants 

7 to combat violent crimes against women) is amended as 

8 follows: 

9 (1) PURPOSES FOR WHICH GRANTS MAY BE

10 USED.—Section 2001(b) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 3796gg(b)) is amended—

12 (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

13 at the end; 

14 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(12) providing the resources to establish and 

19 maintain a court system dedicated to the adjudica20 tion of domestic violence cases, including providing 

21 such resources as—

22 ‘‘(A) prosecutors and court personnel, in23 cluding those who perform interpretation and 

24 translation services; 

25 ‘‘(B) technical assistance and counseling; 
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1 ‘‘(C) training of attorneys, judges, and 

2 court personnel, including those who perform 

3 interpretation and translation services (which 

4 should be carried out in consultation with local 

5 domestic violence advocates, State domestic vio6 lence coalitions, or both); 

7 ‘‘(D) technological improvements and data 

8 collection; and 

9 ‘‘(E) improvement of court facilities, in10 cluding the creation of safe waiting areas and 

11 improved security.’’. 

12 (2) QUALIFICATION FOR FUNDS.—Section 

13 2002(c)(3)(C) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–

14 1(c)(3)(C)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘including 

15 juvenile courts’’ the following: ‘‘and specialized do16 mestic violence courts’’. 

17 (b) ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than 

18 thirty days after the expiration of the third fiscal year be19 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

20 Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the 

21 implementation and effectiveness of the amendments made 

22 by subsection (b), including the effectiveness of grants 

23 made under such amendments in reducing the rates of do24 mestic violence and shortening the period of judicial review 

25 in domestic violence cases. 
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1 (c) STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE.—Section 206(c) of 

2 the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 

3 10705(c)) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (14) by striking ‘‘and’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (15) by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraphs: 

9 ‘‘(16) implement and evaluate court-based ap10 proaches to adjudicating domestic violence cases in 

11 State courts, including—

12 ‘‘(A) domestic violence courts; 

13 ‘‘(B) integrated case management informa14 tion systems; 

15 ‘‘(C) collaborations among courts, law en16 forcement agencies, social service agencies, 

17 women’s shelters, and victims of crime support 

18 organizations; and 

19 ‘‘(D) any other innovative practices likely 

20 to improve the criminal justice system’s re21 sponse to domestic violence; and 

22 ‘‘(17) provide technical assistance to State 

23 courts to facilitate the development and adoption of 

24 improved practices in the adjudication of domestic 

25 violence cases.’’. 
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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out paragraphs 

3 (16) and (17) of section 206(c) of the State Justice Insti4 tute Act of 1984, as added by subsection (c), $1,500,000 

5 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008.

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