The Use of Mediation as a Complement to the Integrated Domestic Violence Courts of New York
![handle is hein.journals/cardcore13 and id is 717 raw text is: THE USE OF MEDIATION AS A
COMPLEMENT TO THE INTEGRATED
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURTS
OF NEW YORK
Lauren K. Williams
I. INTRODUCTION
In 2001, New York created the Integrated Domestic Violence
Courts in order to more efficiently and more comprehensively ad-
dress domestic violence cases.' Domestic violence cases that were
formerly spread out between two or three different courts can now
be resolved in front of one judge.2 While this new court does mini-
mize the hassle for the parties involved in the dispute and does
eliminate inconsistent rulings by different judges in different
courts, this new court structure does not address some problems
that have existed with courts' approaches to resolving domestic vi-
olence.' These problems include (1) that abusers can often afford
to hire an attorney when victims cannot, (2) that victims are skepti-
cal about the effectiveness of orders of protection, and (3) that
abusers can use the court process as a way to further intimidate
and abuse their victims.' Mediation,5 in connection with the Inte-
grated Domestic Violence Courts, could be used in cases where
these problems occur to help the parties resolve their problems.
Mediation would provide many benefits to participants that
are not available in a court proceeding. These benefits include the
I Niw YORK STATE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES, New York State Domestic
Violence Courts Program Fact Sheet, http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/ofpa/domviolcrtfactsheet.
htm (last visited Nov. 7, 2010).
2 Id.
3 Aimee Davis, Mediating Cases Involving Domestic Violence: Solution or Setback?, 8 CAR-
DOZo J. CONFI_ cr RESOi. 253, 268 (2006); Leigh Goodmark, Law is the Answer? Do We Know
That for Sure?: Questioning the Efficacy of Legal Interventions for Battered Women, 23 S r. Louis
U. PuB. L. RE-v. 7, 11 (2004); Laurie S. Kohn, What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Under-
standing? Restorative Justice as a New Paradigm for Domestic Violence Intervention, 40 SETON
HALL L. REV. 517, 527 (2010); Tom Lininger,- Bearing the Cross, 74 FORDIIAM L. Riev. 1353,
1361 (2005).
4 Davis, supra note 3, at 268; Goodmark, supra note 3, at 10-11; Kohn, supra note 3, at 527,
529; Lininger, supra note 3, at 1361.
5 Mediation is [a] method of nonbinding dispute resolution involving a neutral third party
who tries to help the disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable solution. BLACK'S LAW DIc-
TIONARY (9th ed. 2009).
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The Use of Mediation as a Complement to the Integrated Domestic Violence Courts of New York
The Use of Mediation as a Complement to the Integrated Domestic Violence Courts of New York