[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4091 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4091

To authorize the establishment of domestic violence court systems from 
     amounts available for grants to combat violence against women.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 2002

Ms. Solis (for herself, Ms. Lee, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Lantos, Mrs. 
 Jones of Ohio, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Watson of California, Mr. Frost, Ms. 
   Kilpatrick, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Underwood, Mrs. Capps, Mr. 
 Pallone, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Gonzalez, 
   Mr. Pastor, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Stark, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mrs. 
Napolitano, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Ms. DeLauro, Mrs. Meek of Florida, 
   Mr. Baca, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Honda, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. 
  Serrano, and Ms. Woolsey) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the establishment of domestic violence court systems from 
     amounts available for grants to combat violence against women.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Domestic Violence Courts Assistance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Nearly one-third of American women report being 
        physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some 
        point in their lives.
            (2) Family violence costs the nation between $5,000,000,000 
        and $10,000,000,000 each year in medical expenses, police and 
        court costs, shelters and foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, 
        and nonproductivity.
            (3) The Nation's first specialized domestic violence court 
        was established in Chicago in the early 1980s to centralize the 
        prosecution of domestic violence offenders.
            (4) There are presently more than 150 domestic violence 
        courts in at least 23 States nationwide.
            (5) Specialized domestic violence courts in several 
        communities have resulted in cutting the processing time of 
        domestic violence, reducing a backlog of existing domestic 
        violence cases and raising the conviction rate.
            (6) Specialized domestic violence courts allow judges, 
        prosecutors and defense attorneys to focus on the intricacies 
        of domestic violence cases, especially with regards to repeat 
        offenders.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT SYSTEMS FROM AMOUNTS 
              AVAILABLE FOR GRANTS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

    (a) In General.--Part T of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (relating to grants to combat violent crimes 
against women) is amended as follows:
            (1) Purposes for which grants may be used.--Section 2001(b) 
        of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3796gg(b)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(12) providing the resources to establish and maintain a 
        court system dedicated to the adjudication of domestic violence 
        cases, including providing such resources as--
                    ``(A) prosecutors and court personnel;
                    ``(B) technical assistance and counseling;
                    ``(C) training of attorneys, judges, and court 
                personnel (which should be carried out in consultation 
                with local domestic violence advocates and State 
                domestic violence coalitions);
                    ``(D) technological improvements and data 
                collection; and
                    ``(E) improvement of court facilities.''.
            (2) Qualification for funds.--Section 2002(c)(3)(C) of that 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-1(c)(3)(C)) is amended by inserting after 
        ``including juvenile courts'' the following: ``and specialized 
        domestic violence courts''.
    (b) Attorney General Report.--Not later than thirty days after the 
expiration of the third fiscal year beginning after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a 
report on the implementation and effectiveness of the amendments made 
by this Act, including the effectiveness of grants made under such 
amendments in reducing the rates of domestic violence and shortening 
the period of judicial review in domestic violence cases.
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