COVID Impact Report: Intimate Partner Violence and the Montgomery County Courts during the COVID Pandemic
This report discusses some nationwide and local information on what is known about the impact of COVID on intimate partner violence (IPV). It then describes the experience of CWM in remotely monitoring IPV hearings in Montgomery County District Court, after COVID made in-person monitoring either impossible or highly challenging and presents limited findings from the data collected.
Snapshot of Domestic Violence Protective Orders in Montgomery County during COVID-19
This informational report provides a brief summary of the number of Protective Orders granted in 2019
and 2020 in Montgomery County, at the height of COVID-19. It demonstrates that during court closures,
while their numbers were much reduced, there were temporary, and some final protective orders
granted using both commissioners’ offices and virtual options. Additionally, during court disruptions,
data indicate that relief ordered was more restrictive than during normal court operations, presumably
due to judges giving priority to more dangerous cases.
Snapshot of Domestic Violence Protective Orders in Maryland during COVID-19
This informational report provides a brief summary of the number of Protective Orders granted in 2019
and 2020, at the height of COVID-19. It demonstrates that during court closures, while their numbers
were much reduced, there were temporary, and some final protective orders granted using both
commissioners’ offices and virtual options. To their credit, when courts re-opened with limited capacity
in June of 2020, they issued a typical pre-COVID number of final orders.