DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MENTOR COURT FACT SHEET
This fact sheet is part of a series describing Domestic Violence Mentor Courts. Selected by the Office on
Violence Against Women, Mentor Courts share their expertise and assist other domestic violence courts in
implementing promising practices and procedures, and building the capacity of state court systems to respond
effectively to these difficult cases.
AT A GLANCE
Location of Court
Decatur, Georgia
Type of Court
Domestic Violence Civil
Court with a specialized
protective order calendar,
compliance calendar, and
domestic violence
warrant application
calendar
Project Goals
• Keep victims safe and
hold batterers
accountable
• Create a coordinated
community response
• Provide culturally-
appropriate judicial
intervention
DEKALB COUNTY
MAGISTRATE COURT
DeKalb County Magistrate Court primarily handles civil
cases on a specialized Temporary Protective Order
Calendar and on the Compliance Calendar. DeKalb
County also conducts a stand-alone warrant application
hearing calendar for criminal cases involving intimate
partners.
520 Eighth Avenue, 18
th
Floor
New York, New York 10018
p. 646.386.3100
www.courtinnovation.org
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COURT STAFF
• Chief magistrate: supervises the entire court and oversees 10 judges with specialized training
assigned to ex-parte hearings, warrant applications for intimate partners, temporary protective
orders, and compliance calendars
• Compliance officer: monitors attendance and compliance of respondents under a 12-month
family violence protective order
• Domestic violence case coordinator: supports stand-alone calendars by providing
information to presiding judges regarding previous contacts the parties have had with the court,
creating hearing calendars, and serving as a point of contact for project partners
• Clerk of the Superior Court: Deputy Clerk handles all the documents and files that are
produced by temporary protective order filings
• DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office: deputies from the Domestic Violence Unit serve protective
orders, seize and store weapons, and also provide security for the judges, staff, and parties
CASE MANAGEMENT
Types of cases: The DeKalb County Magistrate Court hears civil protective order cases involving
family violence and stalking. All temporary protective order cases are heard by designated
magistrate court judges who sit as superior court judges. All have received specialized domestic
violence training by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. In rare cases, the
superior court judge to whom the case is assigned may choose to hear the case in conjunction with
an already open civil case.
Case identification, screening, and transfer: The screening for the warrant application hearing
occurs when applicants submit their paper application to the on-duty judge in the DeKalb County
Magistrate Criminal office.
Information Sharing: DeKalb County Magistrate Court employs a full-time domestic violence case
coordinator through an Office on Violence Against Women grant. The domestic violence case
coordinator is present for all calendars and provides the presiding judge with information about
previous contact that the parties have had with the court, prior to the hearing.
Schedule: Temporary protective order calendars are held every Tuesday and Wednesday.
Warrant Applications for intimate partners are held on the first and third Mondays of each month.
Compliance calendars are held biweekly.
COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
Frequency of stakeholder meetings: Quarterly or as needed
List of stakeholders: The compliance officer regularly meets with family violence intervention
program providers to discuss programming and any concerns about the progress of the project.
The court also organizes an annual training for all family violence intervention programs providers.
Additionally, the court meets with the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence,
DeKalb County Magistrate Court
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Tapestri (victim services agency), DeKalb Sheriff’s Office, and the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers
Foundation to review policies and practices.
VICTIM SAFETY
Court security: The party that initiates the case and the person against whom the case has been
filed are kept separate throughout the hearing process. An advocate from the Women’s Resource
Center facilitates discussion without the parties having contact. The petitioning party is also
allowed to leave the courtroom first, with at least a ten-minute period before the responding party is
released. Sheriff escorts are also available for parties who feel unsafe leaving the courtroom alone.
This process is followed for temporary protective order calendars and warrant applications. Finally,
the court also includes a secure public entrance with metal detectors and x-ray screening.
Victim services: The Women’s Resource Center works directly with petitioners to provide on-site
legal advocacy and safety planning. An advocate is in the courthouse to provide assistance when
the petitioner appears at the filing window. That advocate can also help them with applying for a
criminal warrant, safety planning, and connect them with appropriate community resources.
Tapestri provides culturally-responsive resources in cases where the petitioner has limited English
proficiency. If petitioners have not made contact with Tapestri prior to coming to the courthouse,
then they are provided with contact information for Tapestri when they speak to the ex-parte judge.
Live interpreters are provided by the court for all hearings where a need has been identified.
Additionally, a language line is routinely available to serve as a backup resource and assist limited
English proficient litigants while communicating with court staff outside of court hearings.
Supervised visitation and safe exchange: The court orders parties to use a local supervised
visitation and safe exchange center (Nia’s Place) after their 12-month hearing.
OFFENDER ACCOUNTABLITY!
Compliance reviews: Compliance calendars are held every two weeks, twice a month.
Immediately following the 12-month hearing, respondents are given a court date that is
approximately one month away to allow them to comply with the requirement that they register and
enroll with a family violence intervention program within 21 days. Subsequent court dates are
scheduled on a bi-weekly basis and are in addition to bi-weekly check-ins via phone/e-mail.
Offender services: When a 12-month order is issued, respondents are required to enroll in a
state-certified family violence intervention program. The court also has a relationship with DeKalb
Workforce Development and the Georgia Department of Labor that allows respondents to enroll in
their job search program with weekly progress reports sent to the court’s compliance officer.
Additionally, the court maintains a list of community resources, including housing and social
service providers.
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LEGAL SERVICES
In cases where respondents appear at the 12-month hearing with counsel and petitioners are
unrepresented, an attorney from the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation will screen petitioners
to determine if they qualify for representation. If the petitioner does qualify then representation is
provided for that hearing at no cost to the petitioner.
TRAINING
Court staff has provided training that includes:
• An annual training for family violence intervention programs on policy and procedures
surrounding the compliance project, including the process for becoming an approved service
provider
• An open house for other courts on best practices
• Regular trainings for local law enforcement regarding best practices in handling domestic
violence calls
This project was supported by Grant No. 2014-TA-AX-K019 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S.
Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of
the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
Special thanks to the DeKalb County Magistrate Court staff for their assistance in creating this publication.
