Prosecuting Attorney

County of Summit

NEWS                                                                                                                    CONTACT:  April Wiesner

For Immediate Release:                                                                                                     Phone: (330) 643-8386

Friday, October 7, 2011                                                                                              wiesner@prosecutor.summitoh.net

Summit County Prosecutor Walsh Receives $749,949 DOJ Grant

Grant to fund first-of-its-kind felony domestic violence court

AKRON, OHIO – October 7, 2011 – Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh today announced that the Prosecutor’s Office was awarded a $749,949 two-year grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) that will continue to fund the Prosecutor’s Office Domestic Violence Unit, which includes a probation officer, assistant prosecutors, an investigator, an advocate from Victim Assistance Program and an advocate from the Battered Women’s Shelter. The funding is part of the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program, which provides funding for improving and strengthening the judicial and community treatment of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking cases. This is the fourth time the office has been awarded this grant.

In addition, the grant will partially support the first felony domestic violence court in the state of Ohio, which is overseen by Judge Paul Gallagher and officially started October 1 in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. The court will handle all felony domestic violence cases involving intimate partners (people who either live together as romantic partners or have a child together). Examples of the types of charges the court could see in addition to Domestic Violence are Aggravated Arson, Rape, Kidnapping and Felony Menacing by Stalking.

The court will include a specialized docket for intensive supervision. The select group of offenders eligible for the specialized docket will be required to provide frequent updates on the assigned requirements, such as a batterer’s intervention program, substance abuse treatment, a parenting program or random drug and alcohol treatment.

In addition to reducing recidivism, the court also aims to ensure consistency by having all cases be heard by Judge Paul Gallagher and handled by a dedicated team of representatives from the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Summit County Probation Department, the Batterer Intervention Program, Victim Assistance Program and Battered Women’s Shelter. In 2010, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office Domestic Violence Unit indicted 353 cases.

“We’ve seen excellent success in specialized courts with regard to reducing recidivism, and the unique circumstances that often surround intimate partner domestic violence make it a good fit for this team approach,” said Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh. “By requiring offenders to continually report to the same judge and review team and, in some instances, to undergo intensive supervision, we will be able to increase the safety of victims while also holding offenders more accountable for their actions, ultimately reducing the likelihood of a repeat offense.”

The domestic violence court is a collaboration between the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Summit County Probation Department, Victim Assistance Program, the Battered Women’s Shelter and Summit County Psychological Associates, Inc.

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