An analysis of the New York County family court workgroup and its impact on the implementation of the New York State Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act of 1994

This dissertation evaluated five hypotheses to see their effect, if any, on the proper implementation of a new law, the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act of 1994. It found that: (1) the dispositional outcomes in family court domestic violence cases did not change despite the existence of stronger potential penalties in the new law; (2) the mediating practices and culture of the family court, where the attorneys, judges, and court attorneys worked together toward the common goal of smoothly and efficiently processing cases, did appear to contribute to similar dispositional outcomes not containing the heightened remedies available under the new law; (3) the desire to expeditiously dispose of cases, while very strong, did not appear to impact on the content of the dispositional orders after the new law; (4) the judges' different political ideologies and different attitudes concerning how these cases should be processed and handled before them had no impact on case outcomes, however the judges' ideologies and beliefs concerning the worth and value of the newly available various heightened remedies were dispositive as to whether they were utilized; and (5) although specialized legal advocacy groups made important contributions to the protection of domestic violence victims, they were not observed obtaining any stronger case outcomes through their advocacy efforts.;This study utilized the multi-method approach of qualitative semi-structured interviewing of key informants, naturalistic observation of the New York County family court setting, and review of statistical data maintained on family offense proceeding case filings in New York County family court from the middle to late 1990s for analysis. Triangulation was used in this study to achieve a broader perspective, as well as to enhance its validity and reliability. The following research was also conducted: review of relevant scholarly literature, including courtroom workgroup studies, implementation studies, and criminal justice system policy reform studies; review of the history and development of domestic violence law; and an analysis of the new law itself.;The study concludes with a discussion of policy recommendations for better implementation of the law.