MONITOR NOTES
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Some recent notes from WATCH's monitors.
The petitioner testified that the respondent held her down and tried to force her to have sex. The judge responded that she did not find this to be domestic abuse because 'not much can happen in two to three minutes.'
In the middle of a sentencing, with the defendant and his attorney standing at the podium, the judge left the bench to go to his chambers and retrieve case information. Everyone sat and waited 45 minutes for his return without knowing when he would be back.
Defendant apologized to the victim [whom he had strangled]. He said he had no intention of hurting her. He "just wanted to stop her from getting a tattoo when she was pregnant."
Victim said the defendant told her, 'I'm here till the end, till you die.' Victim said, 'No matter where they put him, he will find me.
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PURCHASE A MANUAL
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For everything you need to start your court monitoring program, purchase WATCH's Developing a Court Monitoring Program toolkit. The comprehensive
resource takes you through a step-by-step process on starting your own monitoring program and includes a CD with sample presentations and monitoring forms.
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| Join the Court WATCH Connection mailing List
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WATCH
bringing a public eye to justice
608 2nd Ave S. #465
Mpls, MN 55402
(612) 341-2747
watch@watchmn.org
www.watchmn.org
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WEBINAR:
CREATING A COURT MONITORING PROGRAM
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Date and time: Thursday, May 28th at 11:30am (CST)*
Topics:
- Determining your program structure
- Creating monitoring forms and gathering data
- Recruiting and training volunteers
- Tips on communicating with court personnel
Cost:
$35 for NACMP members
$50 for non-members
Contact: Anna Light or (612) 341-2747 x7.
*9:30 a.m. Pacific, 10:30 a.m. Mountain, 12:30 p.m. Eastern
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COURT MONITORING IN THE NEWS
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WATCH was interviewed by The Chicago Tribune for this article related to Chris Brown's pending felony charges against Rihanna. Note: despite WATCH's request that the more accurate term "strangulation" be used (mentioned in the article), the author chose "choking" instead.
Rihanna, Chris Brown incident spotlights lessons on domestic violence, especially choking
by Barbara Brotman
Anyone who yearned for a national conversation about domestic violence now has one. The talk about Chris Brown's alleged attack on Rihanna is buzzing through the pop culture air. [A]s an educational tool, the case has several valuable aspects. It illustrates the reach of domestic violence into all sorts of lives....[I]t shatters the notion that a successful woman cannot be a victim... [B]ut one element of the story has a particularly crucial lesson to teach. Brown allegedly choked her. According to a police affidavit, he put her in a headlock between his forearm and bicep and choked her until she almost lost consciousness. To domestic violence experts, choking is not just another element in a brutal attack. It is a harbinger of potential murder. Read more...
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NEW COURT MONITORING BLOG
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Congratulations to CourtWatch Florida on the launch of their new blog! Co-founder Laura Williams updates the blog 2 or 3 times a week with observations and ideas from her monitoring experience. Here is one of her latest posts...
Attempted Murderer on the Run
Imagine my surprise when I tuned in to WFTV yesterday morning and saw
the report on Michael Stalling's flight from justice. He was originally
charged with attempted first degree murder, and was allowed to plead to
the lesser charge of aggravated battery (great bodily harm) on March
23, 2009. He was supposed to be in court on Tuesday for sentencing.
Several things concern me...
Read more...
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COURT MONITORING ON THE ROAD
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Thanks to a generous grant from the Bush Foundation,
executive director Marna Anderson and national project director Dawn Dougherty
were able to travel to Seattle on March 19 to offer a free day-long
training. Over 40 people gathered to learn about recruiting and training
volunteers, working with court personnel, gathering and analyzing data, and
writing and releasing reports.
Minnesota Training
You can join WATCH in Brainerd, MN on Thursday, May 28 at the
Minnesota Office of Justice Programs' annual crime victim's conference for our
workshop "The Impact of Minnesota's Felony Domestic Strangulation Law." WATCH
will also present on "System Accountability through Court Monitoring" at the
Battered Women's Justice Project conference on June 22 in St. Paul.
Kentucky Conference
WATCH has been asked to participate in the National Solutions Summit sponsored
by the Mary Byron Foundation in
November 2009, in Louisville, Kentucky. The goal of this national summit is to
inspire communities to learn about successful programs that they can replicate.
The Mary Byron Foundation awarded WATCH a Celebrating
Solutions award in 2007 for outstanding work to end violence against women.
For more information on these or other trainings,
contact Dawn Dougherty.
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NEW NACMP MEMBERS
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WATCH would like to welcome new National Association of Court Monitoring Program Members:
North
Shore Horizons
Two Harbors, MN
Catholic Charities
Phoenix House
Council
Bluffs, IA
We wish you the best of luck with your monitoring work!
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