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The Perceptions of Judicial and Psychosocial Interveners of the Consequences of Dropped Charges in Domestic Violence Cases
Sonia Gauthier Violence Against Women 2010 16: 1375 DOI: 10.1177/1077801210389163 The online version of this article can be found at: http://vaw.sagepub.com/content/16/12/1375

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Article

The Perceptions of Judicial and Psychosocial Interveners of the Consequences of Dropped Charges in Domestic Violence Cases
Sonia Gauthier1

Violence Against Women 1395 16(12) 1375 The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1077801210389163 http://vaw.sagepub.com

Abstract Many domestic violence cases do not go to trial because the victim refuses to testify. This article presents a qualitative study exploring the dismissal of criminal charges in domestic violence cases. The 22 judicial and psychosocial professionals interviewed in Montreal, Canada, discussed various consequences of the legal decision to dismiss the charges on victims, perpetrators, justice system professionals, and society as a whole. Respondents clearly did not view the withdrawal of charges as a failure of the criminalization of domestic violence. Keywords case attrition, consequences, domestic violence

Introduction
In Canada, as in the United States and other countries, the early 1980s saw the proliferation of various proarrest and proprosecution policies for domestic violence. However, despite all these policies, many domestic violence cases do not result in a guilty plea, a guilty verdict, or an acquittal, because numerous criminal prosecutions are discontinued at some stage of the judicial process.

Universit de Montral, Quebec, Canada

Corresponding Author: Sonia Gauthier, School of Social Work, Universit de Montral, PO Box 6128, Centre-Ville Station, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3J7 Email: sonia.gauthier@umontreal.ca

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Very few studies have undertaken an in-depth examination of domestic violence case attrition (Robinson & Cook, 2006), and we were unable to locate any Canadian studies on the subject. The only qualitative studies we identified came from the United States and the United Kingdom. Although case attrition can potentially have a major impact on victims, perpetrators, and other key players in the penal system, little is known about its consequences. We decided, therefore, to conduct a study to increase our understanding of this issue. This article reports on how the judicial professionals in our study perceived the consequences of dropping the charges in domestic violence cases. More specifically, the professionals interviewed described the impacts on victims, the accused, justice system professionals, and society as a whole. Respondents also made recommendations about how to minimize the negative consequences of dropped charges and they discussed whether dropped charges should be viewed as a failure. The article ends with a discussion of these findings.

The Consequences of Dropped Charges

Attrition rates for the prosecution of domestic violence cases vary widely across studies. For example, Ferraro and Boychuck (1992), in their Arizona study on case attrition for domestic violence in 1987-1988, reported that 17.3% of cases ended with a withdrawal of the charges. An attrition rate of 52.8% was found in Gauthiers (2001) study of the Quebec Court of Montreal. Researching this same topic in England and Wales, Robinson and Cook (2006) reported an attrition rate of 50% of prosecutions, even though these cases had been heard in specialized domestic violence courts. Dawson and Dinovitzer (2001) documented a 17% attrition rate for a specialized court in Toronto, Canada, which had been designed so that cases could proceed without the victims cooperation. These variations in attrition rates can be attributed to differences in police and judicial practices as well as to the quality of the evidence at the time the charges were laid.

Reasons for the Dismissal of Charges

A prosecutor may drop the charges for various reasons. It could be that the victim requested it, or that she refused to testify, failed to appear in court (Corsilles, 1994), or recanted her statement (Corsilles, 1994; Hester, 2005; Robinson & Cook, 2006). Many articles have mentioned fear of spousal retaliation as the primary reason for the victims lack of cooperation with the judicial process (Bennett, Goodman, & Dutton, 1999; Erez & Belknap, 1998; Hart, 1993; Hoyle & Sanders, 2000; Wangberg, 1991). The victim may also wish to have the charges dropped because she has forgiven the offender (Corsilles, 1994), reconciled with him (Hester, 2005; Robinson & Cook, 2006; Wangberg, 1991), or is emotionally dependent on him (Erez & Belknap, 1998; Hare, 2006). Her socioeconomic situation also has an impact on attrition (Bennett et al., 1999; Erez & Belknap, 1998; Hart, 1993; McGuire, 1999). Moreover, for some victims, the very fact that charges were laid caused their male partners to change (Hoyle & Sanders, 2000) and may have also helped empower

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these women. Consequently, for such women, it is no longer necessary to pursue the prosecution of the case (Ford, 1991). Another reason why a victim may hesitate or refuse to be involved is because she lacks confidence in the effectiveness of the justice system or because her experiences with the system have been so difficult (Erez & Belknap, 1998). The slowness of the judicial process, which may take several months, can also explain attrition (Bennett et al., 1999; Hart, 1993; McGuire, 1999; Wangberg, 1991). Just anticipating the trial and her part in it is usually an ordeal for the victim (Cretney & Davis, 1997). The stress she is under may curtail any desire for further involvement in the proceedings (Erez & Belknap, 1998). Victims may also refuse to cooperate with the prosecution for a variety of other reasons. They may be too disturbed, upset, or frightened at the prospect of facing their attackers (Bennett et al., 1999; Erez & Belknap, 1998), they do not feel adequately protected as a witness (Hart, 1993), or they are not convinced that prosecution makes them any safer than returning to their violent relationships (Corsilles, 1994). Other victims oppose prosecution because they believe the incident was minor or unintentional (Hare, 2006). Moreover, some researchers have concluded that if a victim expects the costs and risks of participating in the court action to be greater than the consequences to the perpetrator, she will likely lose all interest in the proceedings (Ford, 1991; Hart, 1993). This being said, the focus should not be solely on victims to understand their decision to pull out (Hester, 2005). Numerous articles have looked at the attitudes and behaviors of justice system professionals in an attempt to understand why domestic violence victims often refuse to cooperate with the prosecution (Corsilles, 1994; Cretney & Davis, 1997; Erez & Belknap, 1998; Ford & Regoli, 1993; Hart, 1993).

The Consequences of Dismissing the Charges

Dropping the charges in domestic violence cases can have a variety of repercussions on individuals, depending on what role they play in the proceedings. The consequences of dismissing the charges, however, have been studied much less than the reasons behind the decision to dismiss. On one hand, it has been shown that the lack of victim cooperation often frustrates and demotivates judicial professionals (Cretney & Davis, 1997; McGuire, 1999; Rondeau, Castonguay, Brochu, & Fredette, 1998). They feel that they are wasting their time with victims who will not let themselves be helped (Ford, 1991). On the other hand, prosecutors who let the victim decide on the direction of the proceedings can end up making her feel responsible for any measures that are taken against her partner, even though she is not the one on whom this responsibility should rest (Corsilles, 1994). Corsilles (1994) stated that such prosecutorial abdication of control encourages the perpetrator to intimidate the victim and force her to withdraw the complaint, thereby expanding the scope of his power and control. As a result, the perpetrator could get the impression that not even the penal system can curb his abusive behavior (McGuire, 1999). Finally, case attrition in general has a negative impact on how the mass media and the public perceive the penal system (Garofalo, 1991) and the dismissal of charges are often viewed as a failure of the criminalization of domestic violence (McGuire, 1999).

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Should the Dismissal of Charges Be Considered a Failure?

As noted by Ford and Regoli (1993), The issue of dropped charges is neither new nor unique to cases of wife assault. . . . What is new is the characterization of dropped charges as a problem for criminal justice when battered women are involved (p. 141). The literature is marked by this type of portrayal and various strategies have been suggested or tried in an attempt to reduce attrition: Giving more support to victims during legal proceedings (Bennett et al., 1999; Corsilles, 1994; Hart, 1993; McGuire, 1999; Wangberg, 1991); creating domestic violence courts (Ursel, Tutty, & Lemaistre, 2008); seeking to increase the number of guilty pleas (Robinson & Cook, 2006); establishing no-drop policies (Corsilles, 1994; Flemming, 2003; Hart, 1993; Robbins, 1999; Turner, 1995); summoning victims to appear in court (McGuire, 1999); gathering physical evidence (Hanna, 1996); admitting hearsay statements by the victim (Hudders, 2000); and getting statements from witnesses other than the victim (Robinson & Cook, 2006; Rondeau et al., 1998) to be able to proceed without her participation, especially when she has sustained serious injuries or if there is a risk of recidivism (Ellison, 2003). In some places, such as in the Toronto Domestic Violence Court, prosecution rate has become the primary criterion for evaluating judicial interventions: A successful prosecution refers to those cases in which charges were not withdrawn, even if the victim chose not to testify and where convictions were secured either through a trial or a guilty plea (Dawson & Dinovitzer, 2008, p. 145). Such depictions of dropped charges as a failure of the criminalization of domestic violence or, at the very least, as problematic, dominate the literature with only rare exceptions.1 In a Manitoba Domestic Violence Unit (DVU), prosecutors offer defense attorneys an alternative option for a first or a minor offence: . . . we can delay the case and bargain with the defense that if the accused will attend, participate in and complete an abusers treatment group, we will drop the charges. We will pursue this option only if the victim agrees to it and if the accused attends one of the approved programs (Malaviya, 2008, p. 57). Malaviya (2008) argued that such solutions fall into the category of results that could be considered a success, especially in cases with a low probability of conviction: The victim gets what she wants: Her partner receives treatment to stop the abusive behavior. The accused has an opportunity to stop the abusive behavior and has the added incentive to complete the program because dropped charges mean no criminal record. The prosecutor gets what she/he wants if the treatment program is effective and we never see the couple again. This would not be a traditional concept of success for a prosecutor, but it is one of our measures of success in DVU. (pp. 57-58)

Method
This study gathered data from the two Montreal courts that hear domestic violence cases: The provincial Court of Quebec (Criminal and Penal Division) and the Municipal Court of Montreal.2 Semistructured interviews were conducted from February to June 2002. To obtain a variety of perspectives on our research questions and to learn about the professional practices of our respondents, we solicited the participation of professionals

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who were interested in sharing their experiences and perceptions. As we did not have access to membership lists of the various professional groups participating in our study, it was not possible to use random sampling techniques. Therefore, as the participants were selected through nonprobability sampling, their remarks are not generalizable to other professionals in their respective fields (Beaud, 2006). However, although recognizing the value of producing statistically generalizable data, this was not our aim in this study. We wanted to interview people from all the professional groups involved in judicial intervention for domestic violence cases, aiming for an externally diversified sample (Pires, 1997). This was the sole criterion guiding our sampling strategy. According to Nielson and Einarsen (2008), researchers who seek a deeper understanding of the phenomenon rather than generalizable results can construct a convenience sample as a simple and inexpensive sampling strategy. We recruited participants by inviting the judges and prosecutors of both courts to take part in the study. A legal aid officer sent our invitation out to a number of legal aid lawyers.3 We also solicited the participation of lawyers in private practice. The victim support services workers at Ct Cour (a service for victims of family violence who are going through the criminal justice system) were approached directly. We constructed a voluntary response sample composed of 22 criminal justice system professionals involved in the processing of domestic violence cases in Montreal: 6 judges: 5 men and 1 woman, with between 10 and 19 years experience as a judge, 3 of whom sit in the Quebec Court; 7 prosecutors: 2 men and 5 women, with between 1 and 10 years of experience as a prosecutor, 4 of whom work at the Quebec Court; 4 defense attorneys: 2 men and 2 women, with between 8 and 16 years of experience, 2 of whom are from Legal Aid; 5 Ct Cour professionals, all women, with between 5 and 20 years experience intervening with women experiencing domestic violence. Despite the apparently small number of interviewees, we reached data saturation in several themes. The interviews were all thematically coded by the same person to avoid intercoder variations. Using the qualitative data analysis program NVivo, we then proceeded to conduct a thematic content analysis. As expected, the interviewees provided a rich range of information in terms of both particularities and generalities (Paill & Muchielli, 2008). We hope these findings will contribute to a better understanding of the consequences of dropped charges in domestic violence cases, identify ways to reduce those consequences, and provide new insights on how the withdrawals of charges should be evaluated.

Results
This study explored how judicial professionals perceived the consequences of dropped charges in domestic violence cases, not only for victims and the accused, but also for justice professionals and society at large. The question on consequences for these different

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groups of people may have been worded generally (i.e., without naming who) or more specifically. In some cases, individuals spoke spontaneously about the subject. It should be noted that several respondents made statements related to peace bond (section 810 of the Canadian Criminal Code).4 For example, some said that an advantage of dropped charges for the victim was that the accused would be bound by certain conditions. In our opinion, this demonstrates the extent to which the respondents representations of dropped charges are linked to the use of that peace bond. It should also be noted that respondents did not limit their remarks to the negative repercussions of dropped charges; they also mentioned positive consequences for victims, defendants, and defense attorneys. The responses reported below are points that were mentioned by more than one professional in each of the groups interviewed. Finally, let us note that in general, the data did not reveal any tendencies specific to professional groups, with the exception of viewing discontinued prosecution as a failure. We also did not observe any differences related to the type of court (municipal or provincial). This being said, there was a high degree of variability within each respondent group, in that the members of the same group often named many different factors in response to certain questions. The responses were highly diverse for questions on the consequences of dropped charges for different judicial professionals and the reasons why this outcome should not be seen as a failure. However, no differences in responses were observed with respect to sociodemographic factors, that is, sex, workplace, or years of experience.

The Consequences for the Victim

According to some respondents, dropping the charges can have positive consequences on the victim. One positive result is that she does not have to testify. However, a greater number of negative than positive impacts were reported, with little repetition of issues across interviews.5 Most frequently mentioned was that dropping the charges reinforces the dynamics of violence; if left unresolved, the problem may continue or perhaps even escalate. Some respondents also said that the victim may feel like she has been had, once again: Its like they [the women] are living in a dream world for a little while, because they think they have saved their relationship, they think that this has made him change, that he has stopped drinking and he wont do this or that anymore. . . . I think that they think that it may have done some good to have the police intervene, because it forced the man to respond. . . . I think that when they leave here, they need to feel that it did some good. I suspect that they learn pretty quickly that it maybe didnt go quite as well as they thought. I imagine that it gets even worse because they get the feeling that theyve . . . been screwed over once again. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 2) It was also reported that victims sometimes go away concluding that the judicial system trivializes domestic violence and that it leaves her on her own. Some victims may believe that it is useless to file a complaint because these cases always seem to conclude with a recognizance to keep the peace (sect. 810 CCC). Dropping the charges, since this often

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occurs at the victims behest, can cause her to lose credibility with judicial professionals as well as with her family and friends: People who always end up by withdrawing their complaints from the courts arent taken too seriously. . . . Everyone tends to see them in this way: The lawyers, the Crown, the court, and their neighbors, friends, and family. (Judge, Interview No. 12) Some short-term and more positive consequences for the victims also emerged from the data, although the negative consequences reported by participants were more serious, their effects more long term, and they had no impact on the accused.

The Consequences for the Accused

When the charges are dropped, the accused walks away without a criminal record. This was the positive result most frequently named by the interviewees. They mentioned that having no criminal record is not only beneficial for the accused, but also indirectly benefits the victim and her children: For example, he will probably not lose his job or have difficulty getting a job; he is able to travel; the children do not have a father who has a criminal record. However, some respondents also raised negative consequences for the accused, ones that would not necessarily cause him direct harm, but would likely have a serious effect on the victim. In particular, they stated that dropping the charges sends the wrong message to the accused (e.g., that he has won out against his partner and against the system, that his behavior is not a serious matter): Of course they suffer harmful consequences, because it proves to them that my God, its trivial. Youre trivializing what theyve done. They get off without consequences. Its as though youre saying to them, Carry on, my friend, its not a problem. In my opinion, the worst consequences are probably suffered by the accused, because they dont have any insight, they dont have any remorse, theres not any . . . They dont take a hold of themselves. Theres no history, so no problem. They really get off easy. Life is wonderful. Thats very likely the message we send to them. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 8) Some of the respondents also addressed the risk of recidivism, since the accused does not suffer any consequences for what he did.

The Consequences for Justice Professionals

We asked respondents about the impact of dropped charges on justice professionals (police officers, prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys). Defense attorneys were the only category of professionals who were said to experience positive repercussions. Virtually all the themes mentioned for other categories of justice professionals were negative.

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A number of themes often referred to police officers, prosecutors, and judges, as well as justice professionals as a whole (except for defense attorneys). These consequences affected them both at the emotional and cognitive levels. On one hand, respondents said that this kind of situation is discouraging, demotivating, and frustrating. On the other hand, they claimed that it trivializes domestic violence and fuels prejudices with respect to this problem. It should be noted that the categories of professionals to whom these consequences were attributed rarely reported the aforementioned as applying to themselves. Respondents did not report experiencing the feelings and thoughts that were ascribed to them as a professional group by their peers. Their colleagues may have made an incorrect assessment or perhaps these characteristics were indeed correctly observed by others while they themselves remained unaware. It should be remembered that the respondents in the study had volunteered to participate, which suggests that they may have had an interest in the problem of domestic violence. Consequently, these professionals may have been quite knowledgeable about the problem and their views on the consequences of dropped charges included more than the simple fact that the case would not go to trial to achieve a guilty verdict. Moreover, the fact that they mostly talked about the negative consequences of dropped charges on different professionals does not necessarily imply that they considered this outcome to be a failure and something to be avoided. In fact, the opposite was true, as we will show later.

Discouragement, Demotivation, and Frustration

Discouragement, demotivation, and frustration were at the top of the list of the repercussions attributed to police officers and prosecutors. Especially mentioned, however, were the professionals in these groups who are not used to working with these kinds of cases or who are unfamiliar with the problem of domestic violence (e.g., who may not understand the ambivalence of victims toward judicial procedures and how difficult it is for many of them to leave their partner, despite the presence of violence): They [the police] arrive when its a real crisis. The woman has asked for their help and she is scared. . . . Youre really in the heat of the action. Then later, after some time has passed, you go to court and now things are different. There has been a change process with the woman. So the police officers get to court and they recall what was going on when they were at the scene. And they see the woman seated beside the man and holding hands with him and she is glaring at the police officer, because hes the bad guy. I think that this kind of thing leads to police officers becoming demotivated, this is the reason. . . . I believe that it demotivates a lot of people. I think that for people unfamiliar with the dynamics of domestic violence, . . . police officers and investigators and even some prosecutors, I think that the situation is demotivating, because you say to yourself, Hey, everyone did all these things and you reach the end of the road and nothing happens, and not only does nothing happen, but she minimizes the violence and goes back to him. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 2)

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In the same vein, when professionals do not understand the dynamics of domestic violence, they risk becoming burned out when they keep seeing the charges being dropped: You run out of steam working with domestic violence because when you dont understand the problem, you dont usually think of a breakup in terms of being progressive in nature, so that the fourth time that she leaves her partner, shes not leaving from the same position as when it was the first time. (Victim support services worker, Interview No. 6) Several respondents also stated that another consequence of dropping the charges is the feeling of frustration and powerlessness in all types of professionals, except defense attorneys.

Trivializing Domestic Violence and Fueling Prejudice Related to Domestic Violence

Another negative effect of dropped charges especially attributed to police officers and judges was that it leads them to trivialize domestic violence incidents. None of the judges mentioned this consequence, neither with respect to others nor themselves, but this was the effect most commonly reported by others with respect to them. The respondents also felt that domestic violence case attrition fuels professionals prejudices toward domestic violence and its victims. This impact was most often mentioned as affecting police officers over other types of professionals: One of the pernicious effects of the high number of charges withdrawn is that the violence gets trivialized. Really, you hear them say, Its not that serious. Theyre always going to go back with him. Love is stronger than the police. This is what you hear. Not her again! It clearly creates prejudice against battered women. (Victim support services worker, Interview No. 11)

Other Consequences for Police Officers, Prosecutors, and Judges

We have seen that for police officers, the most frequently mentioned consequences were discouragement and demotivation, and to a lesser degree, frustration and feelings of powerlessness, the trivialization of domestic violence incidents, and the fuelling of prejudices with respect to the problem. Some also said that the situation could make them less motivated to intervene with a victim who has on several occasions requested the charges be dropped against her partner: The police end up knowing the homes to which they get called to most often. When theyve been called 10 times to Madame Larouche and each time it gets to court, she claims that she fell down the stairs and that her husband didnt do anything, she didnt want to charge him, it was a neighbor, it never happened, its the police . . .

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maybe the 11th time, if they have to choose between going to see Madame Johnson and Madame Larouche who both call at the same time, theyll visit Madame Johnson and Madame Larouche will take a beating. Its like . . . crying wolf is fine, but it ends up by causing problems. (Judge, Interview No. 12) Some respondents, however, claimed that dropping the charges has no consequences for police officers, although they may get frustrated with this situation, since their job is to bring cases to court and they are not responsible if the court does not render a verdict. Others argued to the contrary: Police officers have a tendency to enormously trivialize domestic violence anyway, because they see cases like this all too often in their job. . . . They believe that the primary goal of an intervention is to end up with a guilty verdict. They really get extremely frustrated with all this. (Defense attorney, Interview No. 15) With respect to prosecutors, we have stated that respondents most often claimed that for this group too, the consequences of dropped charges are discouragement and demotivation, and to a lesser degree, frustration, feelings of powerlessness, and the risk that they will end up minimizing the violence. The respondents also reported that this situation can be very emotionally stressful and that it can lead to burnout. However, one prosecutor explained this type of effect in a more nuanced manner: Were not the ones on the firing line. They [the police] get to the location, to the home, and they see how the plaintiffs are beaten up, in a state of crisis, they experience all this, and then they get to the courtroom and its a whole other reality, which leaves even more of a mark on them. We werent the ones to see them, you know. When we meet them, we know that something serious has happened, but we werent . . . it maybe doesnt have the same emotional impact on prosecutors. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 8) Moreover, the decision to drop the charges in a case makes them very concerned about the victims future well-being. One prosecutor found it very hard to live with his decision if something serious happened to the victim afterwards: So much the better if its an isolated event and the process of going to court has made the accused rethink things and everything will be OK in the future, but there is a lot of recidivism and you just hope that . . . nothing unfortunate will happen. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 4) Let us stress, however, that two prosecutors stated that the withdrawal of the charges does not unduly affect them. One of them felt that dropping the charges is a sign of respect for the victim (even in cases where the prosecutor would have wanted to go through with the case) and the other said that there is no case to win:

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I dont have a case to win. Im here to try to see what is in the best interests of the victim and the general public, and when the public interest converges with the victims interests, I really dont have any problem withdrawing the charges. . . . I dont feel like Ive lost a case, in fact, its the opposite. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 20) With respect to judges, the only effects of dropped charges mentioned by more than one respondent was that it can lead them to trivialize domestic violence and that they can become disillusioned by the situation and demotivated by such cases. A smaller range of effects was reported for them, perhaps because they are less invested in putting on a case than police officers and prosecutors.

The Consequences for Defense Attorneys

With respect to defense attorneys, respondents mostly talked about the positive effects of withdrawing the charges. Their first benefit was a satisfied client: Our clients are very happy if they find themselves without a criminal record. Part of our job is to offer the best possible defense to our clients. (Defense attorney, Interview No. 21) A second advantage of this situation for defense attorneys is that they gain some time. This being said, respondents reported that some lawyers are very aware that withdrawal is not desirable in all situations and that ignoring the presence of violence is not necessarily in the best interests of the client: On other occasions you feel that certain defense attorneys are a little more aware, because they know that in one way or another, they are going a bit beyond their mandate, and they are thinking about the presence of children who are affected by this world of violence and that it may ultimately be in their clients interest to get some resource into place, such as treatment for abusive men, couple counseling, or CSLC [local community service centre] support. Some are more open to this than others, but it supposes that they also take the time to discuss it with their client. . . . So this kind of lawyer has a social worker side, which is not always the case. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 17)

The Consequences for Society

We finally wanted to know how respondents perceived the consequences of the withdrawal of charges on society. Almost all of them had an opinion on this subject, offered either in a spontaneous manner or after we asked them the question. They were worried about the message that this practice gives to society, as it will have repercussions on societal representations of domestic violence and the prosecution of domestic violence.

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On one hand, some professionals explained that the practice of dropping the charges in domestic violence cases could give society the wrong message about this problem. People might consequently view it as a trivial matter and think that it is not important to prosecute such incidents. They could also believe that these cases are mostly minor in nature or that they often stem from false accusations: When people read statistics that say, for example, that only 15% of the cases get to the point of a verdict in domestic violence cases, some people can end up believing that in all the other cases, it wasnt true. (Judge, Interview No. 12) On the other hand, the professionals were concerned with the impact on how society views the prosecution of these cases. The withdrawal of the complaint could give society the impression that the judicial system is not effective in dealing with domestic violence cases, that the perpetrators win and the victims are abandoned, that the accused get off too easily and that justice is not served. This set of societal perceptions would be erroneous and would occur because, according to several respondents, people generally do not know what happens at the court. Some respondents mentioned that the public is unaware that the victims do not want to testify. Others talked about peoples ignorance of the various reasons for dropping the charges: When you talk about dropping the charges without any explanations, people dont understand the reasons and the context for this decision. . . . It can give an image of a system that is very, very, very flexible or very, very tolerant with respect to violence against women and very tolerant of the accused. (Victim support services worker, Interview No. 11) It should be stressed that some professionals felt that this practice has a rather marginal impact on society, since the public is not aware of how often the charges are dropped. What the public hears about more is the leniency of the sentences.

How to Minimize the Negative Consequences of Dropped Charges

We wanted to know the professionals perceptions about how to reduce the negative consequences of dropped charges. Respondents primarily spoke about how to minimize the consequences of this decision on the victims, and to a lesser degree, on the accused and on society. Their comments indicated that all the interveners (including defense attorneys) have a role to play at different levels. The respondents thought that the prosecutors should meet with each victim, even if she had already been seen by a court victim support services worker, to make sure the prosecutor understands the reasons why the victim wants the judicial process to stop and to explain to her the legal consequences of dropping the charges. Prosecutors should explain to the victim why they are granting her request to drop the charges and explain that they are not

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just doing this because she wishes it. Prosecutors should also, in the presence of the accused, take responsibility for the decision to withdraw. They should do so in a way that the accused understands that even if the victim has requested this, it is the prosecutor who decides and who has the sole power to make this decision. Some respondents thought that judges, when they grant the decision to withdraw the complaint, should tell the victim not to hesitate to call the police in the event of a repeat incident. Doing so would demonstrate the seriousness of the complaint and it could have a deterrent effect on the accused, even though the charges are being dropped. Also, when judges make the accused sign a peace bond (sect. 810 CCC), they should set out this order in a serious manner and emphasize the consequences of breaching the conditions. Judges could also briefly retain the accused in the courtroom and try to confront him with the situation, rather than letting him leave with his peace bond and not saying anything: Sometimes they fold. . . . I play the judge, in the sense that Im showing that Im sitting higher than him . . . (Judge, Interview No. 9) Defense attorneys also have an important role to play. For example, they can make the accused understand that domestic violence is unacceptable and they can also try to convince their client to sign the peace bond: Defense attorneys cooperate a lot with us when the charges are withdrawn, which is to say that even though they may already know that the victim does not want to testify, they will suggest to their client that he should sign the commitment in accordance with section 810. They could quite simply tell their client not to sign. There would be no evidence to present, so the file would be closed and there would never be any recourse to section 810. But we do have the cooperation of defense attorneys, and I would say that the majority of them are positive, in the sense that they collaborate positively in getting the 810s signed rather than simply accepting the withdrawal of the charges. (Prosecutor, Interview No. 3) Some respondents emphasized the importance of taking some time before withdrawing a complaint. By doing so, the accused becomes aware that the situation is serious and that a decision to drop the charges is not taken quickly or lightly. They can also have an opportunity to attend treatment. The interveners, on their part, have the time to make sure that the victim has some resources at her disposal: The most important thing in this is for the victim to develop a network of people she can talk to so that she doesnt feel alone and she knows there are people who can help her. She knows that a case file has been opened for her and that she can confide in someone. . . . So if the charges are dropped and it starts all over again, it will be easier for her and she will know who to go to, who she can connect with. She will know what to do. (Judge, Interview No. 14)

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Finally, some respondents suggested that one way to limit the negative consequences of dropping the charges is for judicial and psychosocial interveners to consult together and cooperate with each other in terms of both making decisions and explaining them to the accused and the victim. A few respondents similarly thought that if society were to be better informed about what happens at the court, it would look favorably on the practice of dropping the criminal charges. At the very least, information aimed at the individuals involved in the judicial process would be another means of reducing the negative impacts of this practice.

Should Dropping the Charges Be Considered a Failure?

We asked the professionals in the study if dropping the charges should be considered a failure. Only three of the individuals interviewed (two judges and one prosecutor) categorically thought that it is indeed a failure. Some of the other respondents were more tempered in their comments, but the majority thought that dropping the charges should not be viewed in this way. All three respondents who thought that the withdrawal of the charges is a failure, supported their opinions by referring to the consequences that this practice can have on societys perceptions of domestic violence and the work of the courts in combating this issue. Moreover, three out of the four other professionals with a more mitigated position specified that dropping the charges should be considered a failure in certain cases, but not in others. The majority of those interviewed, however, believed that dropping the charges should not be considered a failure, because it is not necessarily important for the proceedings to continue right to the end: I think that its reductionist to conclude that its a failure on the basis of the outcomes, because it is a process. (Victim support services worker, Interview No. 13) Rather, the positive aspects in the judicial process should be recognized: I dont necessarily see it this way [as a failure]. If the police were to go back to the house and then leave without doing anything more than resolving the immediate crisis, I would say, This is a failure. But as soon as it becomes a legal process, I think that you cant consider it a failure because the work is beginning to be done. Especially now that we have an intervention group in case of a crisis. (Judge, Interview No. 5) Although some professionals did not think that dropping the charges was a failure to the extent that the decision respects the wishes of the victim, several others especially talked about what the victim carries away from the judicial process. First, she becomes aware that her partners violence is unacceptable. She also realizes that the system is on her side. Then, she can work her way through this process, and start on a series of steps that will end in her leaving her partner. In addition, the fact that the case was prosecuted can help break the isolation of some victims:

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The victim who has been alone until now has met with an intervener she can connect with. She now has a network that she can contact, [which is] very important in those cases where they cant properly express themselves in French or in English. (Judge, Interview No. 14) Another impact of the prosecution process is that the victim now knows that she has access to the judicial system (particularly women who belong to ethnic minority groups and who are not necessarily aware that the system is there for them), and she now knows her rights: The judicial system is used to working with expectations that are very high and dichotomous: You are either guilty or acquitted. Something does exist between these two poles and for domestic violence cases you have to learn that: (a) it is not a failure, its the first step toward success, in the sense that you have an accused who is going to be made to say that what he did was wrong, and you have a victim who is being told that what her partner did was wrong; and (b) that the system is on her side if she needs it. It doesnt matter if she withdraws her complaint 10 times, 20 times, 40 times, the system will always be there. This is the message that has to be understood. (Defense attorney, Interview No. 15) One last impact of the proceedings mentionedand that is directly attributable to the work of the court victim support services workersis the fact that the victim now has resources. She has learned that some resources exist that can come to her aid. She is also now less isolated, because she knows the interveners and she has a network to which she can turn. Several respondents also defended the idea that dropping the charges should not be seen as a failure by pointing out that the accused can be made to sign a recognizance to keep the peace once the prosecution has been discontinued. This protection order can be accompanied by conditions, so a sentence does not need to be rendered for the accused to be judicially supervised. Among the possible conditions is treatment, which could make the situation change in a positive way in the longer term. The accused also carries something away from this process. One could say that it is an opportunity for him to recognize that violence is unacceptable and that such behavior will not be tolerated. In addition, he may make positive changes as a result of the resources he can be mandated to go to deal with his problems of violence, alcoholism, or substance abuse. The victim could also benefit from some of the positive consequences of his changes.

Summary and Discussion

The respondents in this study identified numerous and diverse consequences of dropped charges in domestic violence cases, for victims and the accused as well as for justice professionals and society at large. The effects on victims were predominantly negative. In particular, many respondents believed that this decision would probably reinforce the

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dynamics of violence. Some noted one positive effect in that the victim would not have to testify. Respondents also mentioned positive consequences for the accused, the most important one being that he comes out of it without a criminal record. Other more negative impacts, such as giving them the wrong message through this practice, would have mostly harmful effects on the victims. Numerous negative consequences were identified for judicial interveners (police, prosecutors, and judges). These included discouragement, demotivation, and frustration, as well as the trivialization of domestic violence and the fueling of prejudices with respect to this issue. Our study brings to light a very important nuance related to the interveners. Many respondents stressed that these consequences are even more likely to affect professionals who have not been sensitized to the problem of domestic violence. Moreover, with respect to defense attorneys, only positive effects were identified. The practice of dropped charges also has consequences on society. Some respondents argued that it sends the wrong message to society, which would in turn influence the manner in which society views domestic violence and how the prosecution of this problem is represented. The findings thus showed that dropped charges are likely to have consequences, sometimes serious ones, on a large range of people. We also saw that respondents suggested various means to reduce or even counteract the negative consequences of dropped charges, especially with respect to victims. Their interviews suggested that all judicial professionals, including defense attorneys, have a role to play. There are many and several of these focus on the way this kind of decision is explained to the victim, the accused, and society, just like the manner in which the peace bond (sect. 810 CCC), which often accompanies the decision to withdraw the complaint, is presented to the accused. Respondents really stressed the importance of properly informing the individuals involved of the reasons for the decisions made and the results these decisions will have. The few moments that are needed to pass on the right messages seem likely to yield significant results. One should also take note that respondents thought that many of the negative impacts of this decision on judicial interveners could be reduced by sharing information among professionals on the reasons for these decisions. This could help them to stay motivated to intervene in these decisions and to do so in an appropriate manner. Clearly, these findings should be verified through future research that would use a more systematic datacollection process and also include the victims and the accused if possible. In the meantime, police officers and criminal justice system professionals should continue to handle these cases with vigilance, seriousness, openness, respect, and patience. One of the primary, if not the most important, factors in maintaining this attitude is that victims continue to have the desire to phone the police to receive protection and assistance in case of need. Our study has thus revealed that one should not conclude that the only means of reducing the consequences of dropped charges is to take measures to bring the prosecution to its conclusion. This view is reductionist and must be nuanced. In the same vein, the majority of respondents thought that dropped charges should not be viewed as a failure. They believed that the success of a judicial intervention should be largely defined in terms of what the individuals take away from the process rather than in the culmination of the process itself.

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This point of view is very innovative, shedding new light, and providing a more nuanced understanding than usual of how to assess the prosecution of domestic violence cases. It should also be stressed that in Montreal, the victim support services workers were responsible for a large portion of the positive consequences attributed to the judicial process, through the assistance and referrals they gave to victims throughout the intervention. This observation points out the need to ensure the deployment of victim support services for victims going through the judicial process. It is also a reminder of the importance of not letting the psychosocial dimension of the problem of domestic violence be eclipsed by the fact that these incidents are, at the same time, criminal acts.

Acknowledgments
The author especially wants to thank coresearchers Gilles Rondeau and Pierre Landreville for their valuable advice. Thanks also to the participants in the study, the research assistants, the reviewers of the manuscript, and Silvia Straka, the translator.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or the publication of this article.

Funding
The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article: The author gratefully acknowledges those who financially supported this research project. CRI-VIFF (Interdisciplinary Research Center on Family Violence and Violence Against Women) provided the seed money to develop the project. The research itself was funded by CQRS (Quebec Council on Social Research, Grant No. SR-3470). CRI-VIFF also financially supported the translation of this article.

Notes
1. This being said, several authors have expressed their reservations concerning the criminalization of domestic violence in general or proarrest, mandatory arrest, and mandatory prosecution policies in particular (Currie, 1998; Davis & Smith, 1995; Ford, 2003; Ford & Regoli, 1993; Goodman & Epstein, 2005; Hugues, 1999; Mills, 1998, 1999-2000; Snider, 1998). 2. In Montreal, breaches to the Canadian Criminal Code committed in a context of domestic violence are mostly dealt with by the Court of Quebec (Criminal and Penal Division) as well as the Municipal Court. The Municipal Court only has jurisdiction over misdemeanors. The Court of Quebec, on the other hand, has jurisdiction over both misdemeanors and indictable offenses, which are the equivalent of felonies in the United States. In addition, at the Court of Quebec, the file is brought forward by a Crown Prosecutor. At the Municipal Court, the prosecutors are not Crown Prosecutors. In the context of this article, no distinction will be made between both and the term prosecutor will be used at large. This said, one should also note that the Canadian Criminal Code is a federal piece of legislation which, by virtue of the Canadian Constitution, applies in the entire country. Provinces

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and territories are not vested with the competence to legislate on criminal offenses, only on statutory penal matters. 3. In Canada, the organization of legal practice is within the competence of provinces. In the province of Quebec, legal aid lawyers are generalists, that is, they act in both criminal and civil matters. 4. The Canadian Criminal Code provides that a judge can ask an accused, as a form of preventive order, to make a commitment to keep the peace and to be of good behavior (sect. 810 CCC). This order is established, among other things, on the allegation of any person who fears on reasonable grounds that another person will cause bodily injury toward him or her or damage his or her property. It can be requested by the person experiencing the fear or by a third party. The peace bond may include a list of conditions to be abided by, such as the obligation not to communicate directly or indirectly with the victim, and is in effect for a maximum duration of 12 months. If the person named in the order does not respect this commitment and the prescribed conditions, he can be accused of being in breach of this recognizance (sect. 811 CCC). It was reported by the interviewees that this protection order is very frequently rendered in Montreal after pronouncing the decision to discontinue prosecution and to acquit the accused. 5. Interviewees have not identified consequences of dropping criminal charges on subsequent civil matters relating to child custody. However, American studies have established a link between the presence of domestic violence convictions contained in criminal records and more restrictive judicial determinations with respect to child custody and visitation (see, for example, Kernic, Monary-Ernsdorff, Koepsell, & Holt, 2005). We therefore strongly recommend that the impact of dropping the charges on custodial issues and on other civil matters should be further examined in a future study.

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Bio
Sonia Gauthier, PhD, is an associate professor at the School of Social Work at Universit de Montral (Canada) and a researcher at CRI-VIFF (Interdisciplinary Research Center on Family Violence and Violence Against Women) and at the Canadian observatory on the justice systems response to intimate partner violence. Her areas of research concern police and judicial interventions related to domestic violence and domestic violence against women with disabilities.