Bill Text

Bill Information


Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-2652 Domestic violence: courts.(2001-2002)

SHARE THIS: share this bill in Facebook share this bill in Twitter
AB2652:v92#DOCUMENT

Passed  IN  Senate  August 14, 2002
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 19, 2002

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2001–2002 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2652

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Chu, Cohn
 (Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Alquist, Aroner, Bates, Chavez, Corbett, Diaz, Jackson, Koretz, Liu, Longville, Robert Pacheco, Strom-Martin, Vargas)
 (Coauthor(s): Senator Kuehl, Romero)

February 22, 2002

An act to add Section 69520 to the Government Code, relating to courts, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2652, Chu. Domestic violence: courts.
Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of superior and municipal courts, as specified. Existing law also prohibits acts of domestic violence, as defined, and provides both civil and criminal sanctions for acts of domestic violence.
This bill would establish the California Domestic Violence Court Task Force, to be composed of 11 members, as specified, and to be staffed and coordinated by the Judicial Council. The bill would set forth the goals and duties of the task force, as specified, which would have as its primary mission the creation of a set of model guidelines for establishing and operating domestic violence courts throughout the state. The bill would require the task force, by March 1, 2004, to submit its report and recommendations for model guidelines to the Judicial Council, and, at the same time, submit the report and recommendations to the Legislature. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2005, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before that date extends of deletes that date.
The bill would appropriate $100,000 from the General Fund to the Judicial Council for those purposes.
Appropriation: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 69520 is added to the Government Code, to read:

69520.
 (a) There is hereby established in the judicial branch the “California Domestic Violence Court Task Force,” which shall be staffed and coordinated by the Judicial Council.
(b) The task force shall be composed of 11 voting members who shall be appointed, as follows:
(1) Six members appointed by the Chief Justice of California.
(2) Two members appointed by the Governor.
(3) One member appointed by the Attorney General.
(4) One member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(5) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(c) Members of the task force shall include judges with experience hearing domestic violence matters in criminal, civil, family, and juvenile courts, representatives of probation departments, advocates on behalf of domestic violence victims and children exposed to domestic violence, public and private attorneys who specialize in domestic violence matters, and domestic violence experts. It is the intent of the Legislature that advocates against domestic violence have a strong presence on the task force.
(d) The primary mission and responsibility of the task force shall be to create a set of model guidelines for establishing and operating domestic violence courts in this state. In carrying out this responsibility, the task force shall do all of the following:
(1) Assess current available information relating to domestic violence courts, including the report of the Judicial Council issued pursuant to Section 6390 of the Family Code, and studies of domestic violence courts conducted by the National Center for State Courts. The task force shall assess domestic violence court models in this state and other states.
(2) Evaluate and describe the best practices adopted for the operation of domestic violence courts in this state and in other states, from both a substantive and a procedural prospective, with particular emphasis on how each model will ensure the safety of, and support for, domestic violence victims and their children.
(3) Examine, by sampling methodology, the following data elements with the goal of assessing who is being served by existing domestic violence courts and which models appear the most successful:
(A) How domestic violence courts define and rate their success and the factors these courts use to determine their success rate.
(B) The percentage of cases involving formal criminal charges, types of crimes charged, conviction rates, sentencing data, judicial oversight mechanisms, recidivism, and probation requirements.
(C) The percentage of cases involving civil and family law issues, including custody, dissolution, support and other financial issues, and restraining orders.
(D) The percentage of cases involving Child Protective Services or the juvenile court system.
(e) In addition to creating model guidelines for domestic violence courts, the task force shall make recommendations for policies and procedures for the appropriate and effective handling of domestic violence matters for all courts that adjudicate domestic violence matters outside of a domestic violence court.
(f) The task force shall, on or before March 1, 2004, submit its report and recommendations for model guidelines to the Judicial Council for adoption, and shall at the same time submit the report and recommendations to the Legislature.
(g) For purposes of this section, “domestic violence” means any act described in Section 6211 of the Family Code. “Domestic violence court” has the same meaning as provided in Section 6390 of the Family Code. (h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 2.

 There is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Judicial Council the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to implement the provisions of Section 1 of this act.