Source: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/2811?keyword=prosecution&permit%5B0%5D=AVAILABLE
Timestamp: 2013-12-13 06:26:38
Document Index: 740979405

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Prosecution and Defense Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies in Iowa, 1989-1995
study: Prosecution and Defense Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies in Iowa, 1989-1995 >
Prosecution and Defense Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies in Iowa, 1989-1995 (ICPSR 2811) Principal Investigator(s):
Hartley, Carolyn Copps, University of Iowa. School of Social Work; Ryan, Roxann, State of Iowa Attorney General's Office
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... (more info)
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
DS1: Coded Transcript Data
DS2: Transcript 1
DS3: Transcript 2
DS4: Transcript 3
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Hartley, Carolyn Copps, and Roxann Ryan. PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE STRATEGIES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FELONIES IN IOWA, 1989-1995. 2nd ICPSR version. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa [producer], 1999. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2001. doi:10.3886/ICPSR02811.v2
Persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02811.v2
United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (95-WT-NX-0003)
Subject Terms: case processing, courts, criminal histories, defendants, domestic violence, evidence, felony offenses, prosecution, trial procedures, victims
Time Period: 1989--1995
Unit of Observation: Court cases.
Universe: All felony domestic violence cases in the state of Iowa
from 1989 to 1995.
Data Types: administrative records data and machine-readable text
(1) 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. (2) 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. (3) The
user guide and codebook are provided as a Portable Document Format
Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Website.
Study Purpose: 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
between the defendant and the victim.
Study Design: 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 of Variables: 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.
Original ICPSR Release: 2000-10-27
2006-03-30 File CB2811.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.
2001-06-05 The ASCII text court transcripts that were coded to
create the data for Part 1 have been added to the collection as Parts
2-40.
Hartley, Carolyn Copps
A therapeutic jurisprudence approach to the trial process in domestic violence felony trials. Violence Against Women.
9, (4), 410-437.
'He said, she said': The defense attack of credibility in domestic violence felony trials. Violence Against Women.
7, (5), 510-544.
Hartley, Carolyn Copps, Ryan, Roxann
Prosecution Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies: Anticipating and Meeting Defense Claims. Final Report.
NCJ 194075, Washington, DC: University of Iowa [producer], National Institute of Justice [distributor].
Prosecution Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies: Telling the Story of Domestic Violence. Executive Summary.
NCJ 194074, Washington, DC: University of Iowa [producer], National Institute of Justice [distributor].
Trial Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies. American Society of Criminology Conference.
Ryan, Roxann M.
Prosecution Strategies in Domestic Violence Felonies: An Exploratory Study. dissertation, University of Nebraska at Omaha.