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7 UCLA Women's L.J. 173 (1996-1997)
Domestic Violence: The Case for Aggressive Prosecution

handle is hein.journals/uclawo7 and id is 183 raw text is: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: THE CASE FOR AGGRESSIVE PROSECUTION Donna Wills* I. INTRODUCTION Prosecutors throughout the country, and especially in the State of California, have begun taking a more aggressive stance towards domestic violence prosecutions by instituting a no drop or no dismissal policy.' Based on my experience as a veteran prosecutor who specializes in these cases, I firmly believe that this policy is the enlightened approach to domestic violence prosecutions. Fundamentally, a no drop policy takes the deci- sion of whether or not to prosecute the batterer off the victim's shoulders and puts it where it belongs: in the discretion of the prosecutors whose job it is to enforce society's criminal laws and hold offenders accountable for their crimes. The prosecutor's cli- ent is the State, not the victim.2 Accordingly, prosecutorial agen- cies that have opted for aggressive prosecution have concluded that their client's interest in protecting the safety and well-being of all of its citizens overrides the individual victim's desire to dic- tate whether and when criminal charges are filed. Aggressive prosecution is the appropriate response to do- mestic violence cases for several reasons. First, domestic vio- lence affects more than just the individual victim; it is a public safety issue that affects all of society. Second, prosecutors cannot rely upon domestic violence victims to appropriately vindicate * Head Deputy, Family Violence Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office; J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1976. 1. See Bettina Boxall & Frederick M. Muir, Prosecutors Taking a Harder Line Toward Spouse Abuse, L.A. TIMES, July 11, 1994, at Al (discussing the City of Los Angeles' mandatory arrest policies and how domestic violence cases are prosecuted in six California counties). 2. The prosecutor's actual client is the people of the state, commonwealth, or governmental jurisdiction by whom the prosecutor is employed. Thus, the plaintiff in a criminal case, unlike a civil case, will always be the government, commonly called The State or The People.

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