[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3424 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3424

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2003

  Ms. Solis (for herself, Ms. Slaughter, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Ginny Brown-
   Waite of Florida, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. 
   McGovern, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Stark, Ms. Carson of 
 Indiana, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Ms. Majette, Ms. Roybal-
 Allard, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Ms. Norton, Ms. Kilpatrick, and 
  Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas) 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 300 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, including 
                those who perform interpretation and translation 
                services;
                    ``(B) technical assistance and counseling;
                    ``(C) training of attorneys, judges, and court 
                personnel, including those who perform interpretation 
                and translation services (which should be carried out 
                in consultation with local domestic violence advocates, 
                State domestic violence coalitions, or both);
                    ``(D) technological improvements and data 
                collection; and
                    ``(E) improvement of court facilities, including 
                the creation of safe waiting areas and improved 
                security.''.
            (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 subsection (b), 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.
    (c) State Justice Institute.--Section 206(c) of the State Justice 
Institute Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10705(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (14) by striking ``and'';
            (2) in paragraph (15) by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(16) implement and evaluate court-based approaches to 
        adjudicating domestic violence cases in State courts, 
        including--
                    ``(A) domestic violence courts;
                    ``(B) integrated case management information 
                systems;
                    ``(C) collaborations among courts, law enforcement 
                agencies, social service agencies, women's shelters, 
                and victims of crime support organizations; and
                    ``(D) any other innovative practices likely to 
                improve the criminal justice system's response to 
                domestic violence; and
            ``(17) provide technical assistance to State courts to 
        facilitate the development and adoption of improved practices 
        in the adjudication of domestic violence cases.''.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out paragraphs (16) and (17) of section 206(c) of 
the State Justice Institute Act of 1984, as added by subsection (c), 
$1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008.
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