Civil Protective Orders in Integrated Domestic Violence Court: An Empirical Study

Erika Rickard, Harvard University

Abstract

New York's Integrated Domestic Violence (IDV) Court was created to streamline the judicial process and promote efficiency and victim safety in cases of domestic violence. One would expect this collaboration and concerted effort on improving the justice system for victims of domestic violence would yield faster results than under the traditional system. The data presented here indicate just the opposite: IDV Courts take longer to address motions for civil protective orders, and are not significantly more likely to grant such orders than traditional matrimonial courts. Delays in the civil protective order process suggest that the problem-solving court may not be providing the intended benefits, indicating the need for more thorough analysis before replicating the specialized court model.