Domestic violence cases are becoming a serious issue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is why the Tulsa County District Court received a $300,000 annual planning grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, for a planning grant in order to construct a domestic violence court.
Today, the court is part of the criminal division in Tulsa, referred to as the Integrated Domestic Violence Court. It went into effect in November 2017, and is enacted under Okla. Stat. tit. 22 § 61.
The first coordinator of the initiative, Kelly Greenough, stated in 2014 that Oklahoma ranked third in the United States for homicides resulting from male-on-female domestic violence.
Increased Level of Accountability
One of the major changes is the new process of combining cases of misdemeanor domestic violence and protective orders. If a defendant had a protective order and was charged with a misdemeanor, the judge wants the ability to increase the defendant’s accountability in complying with the protective order.
Prior to this, all protective orders and misdemeanors were arraigned at different times. However the court now has the ability to see the whole picture and assess the danger of the situation, while also putting the defendant on notice that the court system is aware of all his illegal behavior.
Streamlining the Process
As previously discussed, if a victim has a protective order and has to appear, then the victim used to have to appear in two different courtrooms at two different times. In addition, typically a protective order is filed after the abuser is charged criminally.
As the protective order continues, often your domestic violence attorney is unable to resolve the case and successfully get a protective order for you because the criminal case has not resolved yet. This results in a lot of attorney appearances with little to no resolution.
Consolidating both cases is a very wise decision because both can be heard at the same time, your attorney only has to appear once to speak on both, and the judges have a better understanding of the complexity of the situation when he is able to consult all the cases concerning the two parties.
Better Communication Between Departments
The Domestic Violence Court also will work closer with the Batterer Intervention Program. Greater monitoring will take place in order to ensure compliance in all orders and program attendance. Previously, any information from outside programs took weeks and sometimes months to reach the courts. Now, this information can be facilitated by the Domestic Violence Court in a matter of days; three days is the average.
In addition, the Domestic Violence Court performs weekly compliance checks making sure defendants are being held accountable to their required orders and programs. Some of these requirements include rehabilitation programs, anger management, drug and alcohol testing, required counseling, and GPS monitoring.
The idea behind this court is greater accountability, streamlining the process, and better communication.
Initial Consultation with a Domestic Violence Attorney
If you are involved in a domestic violence dispute, meeting with a Tulsa domestic violence attorney can walk you through the entire process, as well as expertly explain how the new court operates and help you navigate through it.
Contact an experienced Tulsa divorce attorney when you need to go through the Oklahoma domestic violence process.
For a low-cost confidential consultation, call now: (918) 924-5526.