Where can I find statistics how many protection order cases have been decided in favor or women?

[Kaun]

Hello,

I am trying to figure out what percentage of cases of domestic violence have been decided in the favor of the woman in my particular court in Whatcom County, Washington. I have a suspicion that the court is gender biased and therefore violates the equal protection clause and I would like to do something about it, perhaps a class action lawsuit or somehow involve the Supreme Court.

Does anyone know how this data can be researched? Journalists must do this all the time.

Thank you very much

 

[mightymoose]

Contact the court clerk and ask how you can get this information.

 

[zddoodah]

Journalists must do this all the time.

No. They don't.

Does anyone know how this data can be researched?

You'll have to go to the clerk's office at the superior court (or maybe the district court) in Bellingham. Ask the clerk if there is any way to search case files by case type. If not, then you'll have to go through every single file for whatever time period. If there is a way to search by case type, then this probably won't be terribly difficult.

I am trying to figure out what percentage of cases of domestic violence have been decided in the favor of the woman in my particular court in Whatcom County, Washington. I have a suspicion that the court is gender biased and therefore violates the equal protection clause and I would like to do something about it, perhaps a class action lawsuit or somehow involve the Supreme Court.

Ok...for starters, are you talking about criminal prosecutions? The subject header of your post mentions "protection order cases," but that's a different thing from "cases of domestic violence" (although they may well go hand in hand). Criminal cases are not prosecuted for or decided "in favor of" the victim.

Moreover, a mere "percentage of cases . . . [that] have been decided in . . . favor of . . . [women]" is, by itself, meaningless. I suspect that the overwhelming majority of DV/protective order cases are brought by women, so it stands to reason that a majority will be determined in favor of women. Even if it's 75% or 80% that's not an indication of bias. One would need to critically evaluate each case on its merits to determine whether the result was not supported by the evidence.

What you will find out is that, when a person seeks a restraining order, the initial order is often issued based on very little evidence and without involvement from the person against whom the order is sought. The court will then set a further hearing a couple/few weeks later to determine if the temporary order should be extended or made permanent. The person against whom the order is sought must be given notice and will have an opportunity to contest the order. You would probably find that upwards of 90% of applications for temporary restraining orders are approved (regardless of gender). However, the percentage of orders that are extended beyond the initial period will be much lower.

Finally, you didn't mention why this concerns you, but in order for you to take any action, you'd have to have standing (i.e., some tangible, personal interest that would be affected by the outcome of the action). Most likely, this is the sort of thing that would be addressed by the state attorney general.

 

[adjusterjack]

you didn't mention why this concerns you,

Here's why:

Difference between revision or appeal and motion to modify protection order

What constitues a "normal" emotional reaction if a parent loses a child?

 

[Kaun]

Good answer. Thank you. I understand that most protection orders are filed by women but assuming that women and man lie equally often that would mean that 50% of the cases should be dismissed at the hearing and 50%, sustained. If not then that would mean court rulings are biased towards gender. Does my logic makes sense or is it flawed?. Thank you

 

[army judge]

Good answer. Thank you. I understand that most protection orders are filed by women but assuming that women and man lie equally often that would mean that 50% of the cases should be dismissed at the hearing and 50%, sustained. If not then that would mean court rulings are biased towards gender. Does my logic makes sense or is it flawed?. Thank you

Your reasoning is flawed.

For 1/2 to be dismissed, and 1/2 to be sustained along gender lines, implies that men and women petition for relief equally.

You started by saying more women than men file for protective orders.

Frankly I don't think you can say with certainty that rulings are along gender lines.

Furthermore, these days we apparently have MORE than two genders.

Even if somehow your reasoning was correct, legal reasoning isn't based on polls or statistics.

Protective orders issue only upon someone convincing a court that such relief should be granted based upon the law.

Judges are reluctant to deny rights to anyone unless the initiating party can show why such relief should be granted based upon law, not statistics.

Having decided such cases, I demanded to see why this plaintiff should prevail over the defendant in the instant case at hand.

 

[zddoodah]

assuming that women and man lie equally often that would mean that 50% of the cases should be dismissed at the hearing and 50%, sustained. If not then that would mean court rulings are biased towards gender. Does my logic makes sense or is it flawed?

There's no logic behind any of this. As I mentioned, the initial temporary restraining order is often rubber-stamped and based solely on the written testimony of the person seeking the order. Live testimony is uncommon, so the court has no real chance to assess credibility. And, obviously, some people are better liars than others.

Live testimony is more common at the follow up hearing, as is the ability to offer contrary evidence and to impeach the adverse party. By no means is a 50/50 split between granting and denying to be expected or desirable.

The only way to prove a gender bias is to analyze a significant number of cases to see if cases in which women sought and obtained restraining orders where the evidence didn't justify it and cases in which men sought and failed to obtain restraining orders where the evidence did justify it. In other words, you can't do this by statistics alone. You have to engage in qualitative analysis.

 

[Kaun]

I see what you are saying. I found myself in a situation where I felt I was discriminated against just because I am a man. I had a wealth of evidence that her arguments were false and the commissioner did not even look at those. She had 1 witness, I had 2 witnesses. Her witness was allowed to testify, mine were not. etc.. I feel that the Equal Protection Clause which guarantees non-discrimination by gender. I am doing this research now because I am trying to mobilize the media and a group of men to picket and accuse the court of gender bias. That's why I am doing this research. I would like to find out if in most protection order cases the women prevail. I am still thinking that if a man and a woman show up at a hearing (for permanent protection order) and the man says "not true" and the woman says "true" and the order gets approved in more than 50% of the cases then that's a gender bias. Why would it not be? I just can't quite wrap my mind around this. Thank you

 

[army judge]

I just can't quite wrap my mind around this. Thank you

Have asked ANY court clerk if statistics are available by gender?

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