DOI: 10.3886/icpsr02811
title: Prosecution and Defense Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies in Iowa, 1989-1995
title: Archival Version

description: This study consisted of an in-depth analysis of the trial
strategies used by the prosecution and the defense in domestic
violence-related felony cases. The research objectives of this study
were (1) to catalog the evidentiary constraints in domestic
violence-related cases -- specifically, the types of character
evidence and prior acts of defendants allowed during trial, (2) to
show how the prosecution presented its case in domestic violence
trials by identifying the key prosecution themes and strategies, (3)
to present the specific evidence used by the prosecution to prove the
elements of a case, and (4) to describe the themes and strategies used
by the defense to counter the prosecution's case. Researchers focused
on the admission of evidence of other acts of violence, known as
"context" evidence, which characterized the violent relationship
between the defendant and victim. The design involved a qualitative
analysis of felony trial transcripts in Iowa from 1989 to 1995, in
which the defendant and victim were involved in a domestic
relationship. Part 1, Coded Transcript Data, contains the coded themes
from the text analysis program. Background information was gathered on
the length and type of relationship at the time of the incident, and
the substance abuse and criminal histories of the defendant and the
victim. Incident variables include current case charges, type of
trial, description of physical injuries, whether hospitalization was
required, type of weapon used, and whether the defendant or the victim
owned a firearm. Other variables describe prosecution and defense
strategies regarding evidence, identity, credibility, the nature of
the relationship between the defendant and the victim, the intentions
of the defendant, and how the police handled the case. Demographic
variables include the race of the defendant and the ages of the
defendant and the victim. Parts 2-40 consist of the actual court
transcripts.
description: To date, studies of the prosecution of domestic
 violence cases have been limited to charging decisions, and no
 research has examined prosecution or defense strategies in domestic
 violence cases. This study consisted of an in-depth analysis of the
 trial strategies used by the prosecution and the defense in domestic
 violence-related felony cases. The research objectives of this study
 were (1) to catalog the evidentiary constraints in domestic
 violence-related cases -- specifically, the types of character
 evidence and prior acts of defendants allowed during trial, (2) to
 show how the prosecution presented its case in domestic violence
 trials by identifying the key prosecution themes and strategies, (3)
 to present the specific evidence used by the prosecution to prove the
 elements of a case, and (4) to describe the themes and strategies used
 by the defense to counter the prosecution's case. Researchers focused
 on the admission of evidence of other acts of violence, known as
 "context" evidence, which characterized the violent relationship
between the defendant and the victim.
description: This study involved a qualitative analysis of
 felony trial transcripts in Iowa, from 1989 to 1995, in which the
 defendant and the victim were involved in a domestic
 relationship. Prior incidents of violence were not a requirement for
 case selection. The study was limited to the single jurisdiction of
 Iowa for three reasons: (1) jurisdictions with differing laws make
 equivalent comparisons difficult, (2) Iowa prosecutors developed the
 first prosecution manual on domestic abuse in 1990 and have since
 received regular training on domestic violence, and (3) Iowa is a
 relatively homogeneous jurisdiction with a tight-knit prosecutor's
 organization. The decision to study only felony domestic violence
 cases was based on the assumption that criminal justice officials and
 jurors treat felony cases more seriously than misdemeanor domestic
 violence cases. In addition, felony cases are likely to yield trial
 strategies that are more defined and more complex than those for
 misdemeanors. The decision to study only convictions was based on the
 fact that it was easier as well as less expensive to identify cases
 and obtain transcripts for cases that led to convictions. Once
 transcripts were obtained for all sampled cases, paper transcripts
 were scanned into computer files and saved in ASCII format. All
 computer files were then edited to meet the requirements of the
 qualitative text analysis program. Part 1, Coded Transcript Data,
 contains the coded themes from the text analysis program. Parts 2-40
consist of the actual court transcripts.
description: For Part 1, Coded Transcript Data, background
 information was gathered on the length and type of relationship at the
 time of the incident, and the substance abuse and criminal histories
 of the defendant and the victim. Incident variables include current
 case charges, type of trial, description of physical injuries, whether
 hospitalization was required, type of weapon used, and whether the
 defendant or the victim owned a firearm. Other variables describe
 prosecution and defense strategies regarding evidence, identity,
 credibility, the nature of the relationship between the defendant and
 the victim, the intentions of the defendant, and how the police
 handled the case. Demographic variables include the race of the
defendant and the ages of the defendant and the victim.
description: Response Rates: Not applicable.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None.
description: Convenience sampling.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Coded Transcript Data
DS2: Transcript 1
DS3: Transcript 2
DS4: Transcript 3
DS5: Transcript 4
DS6: Transcript 5
DS7: Transcript 6
DS8: Transcript 7
DS9: Transcript 8
DS10: Transcript 9
DS11: Transcript 10
DS12: Transcript 11
DS13: Transcript 12
DS14: Transcript 13
DS15: Transcript 14
DS16: Transcript 15
DS17: Transcript 16
DS18: Transcript 17
DS19: Transcript 18
DS20: Transcript 19
DS21: Transcript 20
DS22: Transcript 21
DS23: Transcript 22
DS24: Transcript 23
DS25: Transcript 24
DS26: Transcript 25
DS27: Transcript 26
DS28: Transcript 27
DS29: Transcript 28
DS30: Transcript 29
DS31: Transcript 30
DS32: Transcript 31
DS33: Transcript 32
DS34: Transcript 33
DS35: Transcript 34
DS36: Transcript 35
DS37: Transcript 36
DS38: Transcript 37
DS39: Transcript 38
DS40: Transcript 39
description: All felony domestic violence cases in the state of Iowa
from 1989 to 1995.
description: Parts 2-40 contain the actual court transcripts
that were coded to create the quantitative data in Part 1. The court
transcripts were sent to ICPSR as ASCII text files. ICPSR combined
some of the files so that the entire transcript for each defendant is
provided in a single file. ICPSR did not format the ASCII files in any
way. Since most of these files have line lengths that exceed 80
characters, users interested in printing the files should use a word
processing program to avoid truncating the text.Parts 2-40
contain court transcripts for 39 of the 40 defendants analyzed in this
study. The quality of one paper transcript was too poor for the
principal investigators to scan into an electronic file and this
transcript was coded by hand to obtain the data for Part 1.The
user guide and codebook are provided as a Portable Document Format
(PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems
Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as
the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the
Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Website.