Variables That Predict Verdicts in Domestic Violence Cases

Abstract

Literature on the prosecution of domestic violence cases tends to focus on prosecution strategies or policies, and prosecutorial discretion. There is a dearth of studies concerning factors that are associated with verdicts in domestic violence trials. This study of 140 domestic violence cases appearing before the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Chesterfield County, Virginia, examines the demographic and court process variables that are associated with particular verdicts in domestic violence offenses. A discriminant function analysis determined that five variables can predict verdicts: race of perpetrator, gender of perpetrator, relationship between victim and perpetrator, previous criminal history, and availability of Polaroid pictures of the crime for use as evidence. The typical guilty case was a White male, married to or living with the victim, with a previous criminal history, and whose case file included Polaroid pictures of the crime.