Family violence court at Manukau is called both 'therapeutic and punitive'
MacLennan, Catriona
Family violence court at Manukau is called both 'therapeutic and punitive' MacLennan, Catriona - Auckland District Law Society 2005 - 0.58333333333
Law News 2005 (22)
This brief article describes the operation of the Family Violence Court at Manukau (Auckland, New Zealand), as reported by Judge John Adams in a speech to the 'Rise Above It' conference in Masterton. Details of the courts operation include: two Family Violence Courts operate each week in the criminal court dealing with approximately 25 new family violence cases each week; the second day of the Court is allocated for defended hearings. The family violence cases are divided into four categories ranging from Category 1 comprising isolated incidents with no indication of a violent propensity, to Category 4 which involves cases without much prospect of change, where sociopathlogy might be involved. Early disposition was key to the court's response to family violence, with mist cases disposed of within a month of the alleged incident. The Courts had seen a greater proportion of defendants pleading guilty, which was considered to increase the possibility of rehabilitation in cases of lower range violence where defendants did not have a history of violent offending. A range of penalties are applied, with consideration of the extent to which penalties might affect other family members.
COURTS
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
INTERVENTION
JUSTICE
NEW ZEALAND
Family violence court at Manukau is called both 'therapeutic and punitive' MacLennan, Catriona - Auckland District Law Society 2005 - 0.58333333333
Law News 2005 (22)
This brief article describes the operation of the Family Violence Court at Manukau (Auckland, New Zealand), as reported by Judge John Adams in a speech to the 'Rise Above It' conference in Masterton. Details of the courts operation include: two Family Violence Courts operate each week in the criminal court dealing with approximately 25 new family violence cases each week; the second day of the Court is allocated for defended hearings. The family violence cases are divided into four categories ranging from Category 1 comprising isolated incidents with no indication of a violent propensity, to Category 4 which involves cases without much prospect of change, where sociopathlogy might be involved. Early disposition was key to the court's response to family violence, with mist cases disposed of within a month of the alleged incident. The Courts had seen a greater proportion of defendants pleading guilty, which was considered to increase the possibility of rehabilitation in cases of lower range violence where defendants did not have a history of violent offending. A range of penalties are applied, with consideration of the extent to which penalties might affect other family members.
COURTS
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
INTERVENTION
JUSTICE
NEW ZEALAND