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Accomplishments

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Court Watch Montgomery has improved access to justice for thousands of domestic violence victims in Montgomery County and across Maryland. We won’t stop until all domestic violence victims coming to court are safe, treated with respect, and receive comprehensive legal protections that help stop their abuse.

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Major Accomplishments

✅ Victims are now safer inside the courthouse

✅ More victims are getting “no contact” orders

✅ More protections for children in families with intimate partner violence

✅ More judges are ordering abusers to turn in their guns in protective orders

✅ More victims are protected when they leave the courthouse

✅ One abusive judge is off the bench

✅ Legislation to get guns out of the hands of convicted abusers is now Maryland law

✅ We’ve brought the community into the courthouse, and opened a dialogue

✅ Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team is reinstated

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Percent (%) of domestic violence victims who had safe places to wait in Montgomery County District Courts
2011 and 2018

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Victims are now safer inside the courthouse

Our first REPORT showed that in 2011, 99% of domestic violence victims were waiting before and after their hearing in unguarded areas where they were all too often re-traumatized by their abusers.  Our report spurred local courts to request more state funds for courthouse security. They succeeded by using our data to prove their point.

Every domestic violence victim seeking a protective order in Montgomery County now has a safe area, guarded by a bailiff, where they can wait before and after their hearing without fear or intimidation or harassment by their abuser.

We will continue to ensure 100% courthouse safety for every domestic violence victim who comes to Montgomery County courts.

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More victims are getting “no contact” orders

Virtually all domestic violence victims with children who come to court ask for a “no contact” order that bans the abuser from having any type of contact for one year. Although judges put “no contact” in the protective order, they regularly make a dangerous exception and order victims to have contact with their abuser every other week to exchange their children, without making sure the victim is safe while they do it.

Court Watch provided powerful data in our 2014 REPORT showing the dangers that current visitation practices create for victims and recommending that the county establish a safe visitation center. Within 48 hours of our report, the County Executive launched a task force to consider our recommendations.  Court Watch partnered with numerous county leaders and local organizations to build support for the center and to ensure it was adequately funded.

With the opening of the Safe Passage Center in late 2017, every Montgomery County judge now has a secure, family-friendly visitation center that they can order couples to use to make sure that victims are protected from all contact with their abuser.

Since the beginning of 2018, the Safe Passage Center has already saved 46 victims from continued unsafe and traumatic contact with their abuser.

We won’t stop until every domestic violence survivor in Maryland asking for a “no contact” protective order gets one that bans all contact – no exceptions.

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Judges have protected 160 children from unsupervised visits with an abusive parent.

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1203 hours of completely safe visits…and counting.

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More children in families with intimate partner violence are being protected

When a person abuses their intimate partner in a home with children, there is a 30% to 70% chance that they are also abusing the children. Yet judges in Montgomery County routinely order unsupervised visits with the abusing parent as part of protective orders.

Montgomery County’s first Safe Passage Center, opened in November of 2017, gives judges a powerful tool to make sure that these highly vulnerable children are safe. Already in 2018, judges have protected 66 at-risk children in Montgomery County by ordering that all visits with the abusing parent will be supervised and take place at the Safe Passage Center.

Court Watch’s 2014 REPORT documented the dangers to children during unsupervised visits. County Executive Ike Leggett set up a task force to consider our recommendation for a county safe visitation facility. Court Watch used data and stories from court and local child homicide data to build strong County Executive and County Council support. We pushed for additional funds for security, staff and money to help victims with transportation costs to and from the center.

We won’t stop until Maryland judges assess and ensure every child’s safety.

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More judges are ordering abusers to turn in their guns in protective orders

Today, Montgomery County judges tell 78% of abusers receiving final protective orders to turn in their guns. In 2011, that figure was only 32%. Court Watch data and advocacy made the difference.

In addition, the Maryland Judges’ Domestic Violence Subcommittee has just decided to suggest that all District Court judges in the state use another Court Watch-identified “best practice.” They are now asking District Court judges to ask every victim whether the abuser has access to guns. This information is essential so judges can accurately assess victim danger. Law enforcement can use the information to more quickly get guns out of the wrong hands.

We won’t stop until judges ask all parties if the respondent has access to guns, and tell 100% of respondents given a final order that they must turn in all guns immediately.

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% of Abusers Told by Judges to Turn in All Guns

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2018

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2011

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More victims are protected when they leave the courthouse

Without specific safety precautions, domestic violence victims are in real danger as they leave the courthouse after a hearing. Within 48 hours of our 2011 REPORT, all local courts adopted our recommended approach, the use of staggered exits, as court policy. Respondents are held for 15 minutes after the victim leaves the courthouse so that she is guaranteed safe passage to her transportation. Montgomery County judges and bailiffs dramatically increased their use of staggered exits from 15% in 2011 to 70% in 2012. Today every bailiff in Maryland is trained in how to implement safe exit procedures.

Unfortunately, judges and bailiffs now are only staggering exits 45% of the time.  Some bailiffs let abusers leave the courtroom after only two minutes. Some judges state they do not have the right to hold anyone after their hearing.

We won’t stop until judges stagger every exit by at least 15 minutes, to guarantee domestic violence victims that they won’t be re-abused outside the courthouse when they seek legal protection.

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One abusive judge is off the bench

Court Watch and several other county organizations worked to successfully pressure an abusive County District Court judge to leave the bench. Court Watch volunteers provided detailed data on the extent of the judge’s disdainful and demeaning approach to victims, and transcribed court audio recordings to provide verbatim examples of his abusive behavior.

Court Watch also met with the Chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and asked to testify at the judge’s 10-year re-appointment hearing. The judge resigned shortly before his hearing.

We won’t stop until all Maryland judges, bailiffs, clerks and interpreters treat all parties in domestic violence cases with respect.

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Legislation to get guns out of the hands of convicted abusers is now Maryland law 

When someone is convicted of a criminal domestic violence assault in Maryland, they lose the right to buy, possess or own a gun for the rest of their lives.  Court Watch’s 2015 REPORT showed that out of 126 convicted abusers who were disqualified from buying or possessing guns, only one abuser was told this important fact by their judge.

We also highlighted the major gap in state criminal code, which lacked any enforcement process to ensure that convicted abusers who owned guns were getting rid of them.

Our report sparked a three-year effort by Maryland legislators and gun violence prevention groups to pass a bill adding enforcement provisions to current gun law.  With the supportive efforts in 2018 by Moms Demand Action, the bill passed and was signed into law.

Every judge must now orally tell each convicted abuser that they can no longer buy or possess guns. Courts will share information on convictions more quickly with law enforcement so they can speed up their process of identifying which convicted abusers have guns and make sure they are removed.

We won’t stop until Maryland has an effective system to get guns out of the hands of convicted domestic violence abusers.

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We’ve brought the community into the courthouse, and opened a dialogue

Before Court Watch began there had been virtually no reporters or members of the public in local domestic violence courtrooms in decades. Over 150 community members have now observed thousands of civil and criminal cases and brought fresh perspectives and ideas to a system that had been very closed.

Many judges continue to welcome feedback from Court Watch, saying they find the information valuable and interesting. Our reports are shared by the county District Courts with all new judges and are sent by Maryland’s Administrative Office of the Courts to every District Court judge in the state.

Court Watch has also initiated joint discussions between judges and important community programs, such as the child witness counseling program and the offender intervention project so that judges build a better understanding of how such programs can be incorporated into protective orders to enhance their effectiveness.

Our work has created broader dialogue and involvement as well. Court Watch reports have been covered extensively by the Washington Post, whose editorial page has supported our recommendations for change seven times in seven years. In November 2017, the Baltimore Sun featured Court Watch Montgomery in a front-page investigative story on the lack of judicial accountability in Maryland.

We won’t stop until communities are active in, and knowledgeable about our courts and our courts are knowledgeable about their communities.

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Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team is reinstated

Detailed reviews of each domestic violence homicide are critical in identifying opportunities to prevent future deaths. In 2015, Court Watch reported on the fact that our county’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team had not met in years and had never published a public report.

As a result, Montgomery County has fully re-constituted its Domestic Fatality Review Team and is currently reviewing cases.

Court Watch looks forward to the Team’s first public report, which will give residents, nonprofits, and funders a chance to join county government in tackling systemic flaws or gaps that can lead to domestic violence homicides.

We’ll continue to ensure that every domestic violence homicide and near-homicide is studied thoroughly to identify ways to prevent homicides in the future.

We won’t stop until community residents are embraced as partners in systemic change.

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Help us to create lasting change for domestic violence victims and their children.

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