Courtwatch of Contested Restraining Order Hearings in Multnomah County Local Public Safety Coordinating Council November 2, 2010

What Is A Courtwatch? Courtwatch is a great model for assessing and evaluating court processes, including criminal justice cases Observe individual hearings in different courtrooms Identify practices and trends Identify opportunities for improvement Provide information & feedback Monitor changes over time

Why This Courtwatch? Identify current practices and changes over the past 15 years More RO’s are contested (>50%) Significant court time in RO processing & hearings No systematic observation of RO hearings in 15+ years New laws, new judges Judges don’t see each other’s courtroom practices Other system changes (DVERT, non-shelter DV victim services, etc.) may impact RO process ID positive & concerning issues across the system: environment, court, security, attorneys, advocates Identify areas for improvements

Observed Hearings Hearings between October 2008-April 2009 Contested FAPA, EDAPA & renewal hearings Most 5 & 21-day hearings on the regular docket A handful of hearings on the long docket 413 scheduled events/383 unique cases 167 contested hearings observed 40% of scheduled events Most judges observed in 10 or more contested hearings

Themes Noted: Security & safety issues Courtroom environment A significant number of failures to appear Procedures & styles vary by courtroom Few attorneys Few DV victim advocates

Findings The Parties The Hearings 72% female petitioners, male respondents 16% male petitioners, female respondents 8% same-gender petitioners & respondents 4% had one party of unknown gender The Hearings 413 scheduled events / 167 contested hearings 40% of scheduled hearings went forward 33% of hearings had one or both parties fail to appear 17% were set over 5% were dismissed or modified by agreement, no contested hearing 5% unknown outcome

Failures to appear Attorneys Interpreters Petitioners (25%) are more likely to miss hearings than Respondents (16%) Male Petitioners (26%) are more likely to miss hearings than female Petitioners (21.5%) Attorneys 92% of hearings have at least 1 unrepresented party If only one party is represented, the represented party is significantly more likely to prevail Interpreters Interpreters present for 8% of scheduled hearings and 6% of hearings that actually take place Languages: Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese & an Ethiopian language Hearings involving interpreters are twice as long

Differences in Outcomes By Judge: Averages & Ranges Low High Vacated/ Dismissed 37% 15% 58% Modified 28% 11% 62% Upheld, no changes 35% 23% 60% Only the 7 judges we observed for at least 10 contested hearings are included in this table Average dismissed in 2002 file review: 31.5%

Differences in Hearing Length By Judge Vacated Modified Upheld Average 36 minutes 35 minutes 34 minutes Low 4 minutes 3 minutes High 2 hrs. 2 minutes 2 hrs. 48 minutes 3 hrs. 6 minutes Average hearing length with attorneys: 46 minutes Average hearing length without attorneys: 30 minutes Shortest/longest average hearings by judge, excluding very short (< 5 min.) and very long (>2 hrs.) hearings: Judge with shortest average: 20 minutes Judge with longest average: 45 minutes Average contested hearing length in1994-1995: 10.7 minutes

Other Issues Noted By Observers Related criminal or VRO charges noted in 15% of scheduled hearings 37% of these were set over at least once Some defense attorneys use RO hearings as opportunity for discovery Custody/parenting time issues noted in 51% of contested hearings Weapons dispossession rarely discussed (7%) Courtrooms often too small for these hearings

Areas for Improvement Integrity of process & court atmosphere Proactively address potential for intimidation & safety threats Establish tone of respect and fairness Consistency Provide consistent information to parties Establish consistent procedures across courtrooms Process Recognize the court’s moral authority Access to courts can create safety, even if RO is dismissed Self-help process Expect to provide more information to self-represented parties

Potential Impact of Budget Cuts Loss of security staff at courthouse could lead to increased danger for victims, court staff Lack of court time to fully consider facts and communicate expectations to parties Increased demands on staff time Increase in self-represented parties

Courtwatch Observer’s Comment: “The courtroom atmosphere is important – at least people should feel safe in the courtroom. If the court can’t protect them during the hearing, how can a restraining order?”