Is Spokane Ignoring Domestic Violence
State Supreme Court laws have made it harder to prosecute
6/26/20262 min read
One of the tenants of libertarianism is freedom to do as one wishes as long as it doesn’t cause financial or physical harm to others. So what happens when our public servants fail to enforce domestic violence cases? In all likelihood, society gets more of it.
In April, Spokane police arrested a man for grabbing a woman by the neck and pushing her to the ground. A neighbor called 911, police arrived, and the tearful victim told an officer she was sick of her boyfriend putting his hands on her.
Spokane County prosecutors determined there was probable cause for a felony-level assault charge. He had prior domestic violence convictions for assaulting and strangling women he was dating. Sadly, this victim didn’t pursue charges, so the case was dropped. Barring strong evidence such as medical records, photos, videos, witness testimony and text messages, there is little that authorities can do if the victim refuses to cooperate.
In recent years, the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office went from declining one or two felony domestic violence cases per month to declining over a dozen. Last March, 25 cases were declined according to the prosecutor’s office. People who were arrested for crimes like strangulation, assault, and no-contact order violations were being released within days, with no new criminal charges on their record.
Spokane County has one of the highest reported rates of domestic violence in the state. While Spokane police and survivor advocates point to differing reasons for case refusals, they agree the county’s criminal justice system is at capacity. Sadly, that means some cases must take priority over others. I can’t help but wonder, “How much of said capacity consists of drug users who harmed no one but perhaps themselves.” Swap them out.
Advocates point to last year’s state Supreme Court order that slashed the number of cases that public defense attorneys are allowed to take by more than two-thirds each year (47, from 150). In an attempt to lighten the alleged heavy workloads of public defenders, they have essentially tripled the required number of public defenders needed. As a result, regulations now force the system to pick favorites among domestic abuse victims. What is a heavy workload? The little bit of data I was able to find suggests prosecutor workloads of 150 cases is already low.
Additionally, the state Supreme Court issued another order accelerating the timeline for prosecutors to make charges, which means significantly less time to confer with victims about charges. Both orders are detrimental towards women.
Domestic violence survivors, who allow abusers to contact them, claim fear of saying “no” and/or the need to navigate shared custody and child support orders. Those cases get ignored quickly.
It gets worse. While Spokane County declines a relatively low 14% of cases, King County, location of liberal bastion Seattle, declined to file over 40% of cases referred by law enforcement. I thought liberals cared about women – apparently not! In Washington, local governments are responsible for more than 94% of public defender costs. Highly-taxed King County’s defense of women appears to be a huge injustice.
Source used: Associated Press
