Bismarck is preparing to launch the state's second domestic violence court this December, with operations expected to commence on December 1. This significant development follows the model established by the Grand Forks County Domestic Violence Court (GFDVC), which began in 2018. The GFDVC was a collaborative effort initiated by the Northeast Central Judicial District alongside the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC).
The purpose of these specialized courts, including Bismarck's upcoming addition, is to manage post-conviction cases. They aim to achieve several critical objectives: better monitoring of compliance with court orders, increasing accountability for offenders, and ultimately working to reduce recidivism in domestic violence cases.
Lindy Merck, the director of marketing and communications at CVIC, confirmed that the Grand Forks court is serving as "a bit of a model" for the system being built in Bismarck. Merck further explained that Bismarck is essentially adopting a blueprint, and this foundational approach could potentially be replicated in other areas across the state in the future.
While drawing from the Grand Forks model, Bismarck's domestic violence court will be carefully tailored to suit the specific needs and context of its local area, rather than being an exact replica. A key distinction will be its focus: due to Bismarck generally handling a larger caseload, the new court will exclusively concentrate on felony-level domestic violence charges. This specialization aims to manage the volume while focusing resources on the most severe cases.
The new court will operate by following post-conviction cases. This means that defendants will be formally ordered to participate in the court's program at the time of their sentencing. Following this, they will be required to comply with various conditions set forth by the court. The Grand Forks model, for example, incorporates incentives for compliance, such as a suspended $500 fine. Defendants are only required to pay this fine if they fail to complete their mandated treatment or other conditions.
Active and consistent monitoring of compliance is a core component of this court system. A dedicated domestic violence court project coordinator tracks defendants' adherence to their conditions. Defendants are also required to attend periodic hearings throughout their programming, ensuring ongoing oversight and engagement with the judicial process.
A.J. Buntrock, CVIC’s director of community response, highlighted how the new system significantly improves upon previous methods. Buntrock noted that before the GFDVC was established, post-conviction domestic violence cases were tracked by the clerk’s office. This prior approach, Buntrock explained, was inherently more difficult to manage. Under the old system, defendants were typically only called back into court if they were already noncompliant. Furthermore, they might appear before different judges who were not consistently familiar with the intricate details of their individual cases, potentially leading to inconsistencies in oversight.
With the implementation of the new, specialized court system, Buntrock emphasized a crucial benefit: "we don't have people kind of slipping through the cracks." This consistent and dedicated oversight is designed to ensure that offenders remain accountable and receive the necessary interventions. Buntrock also conveyed that seeing other domestic violence courts open around the state has been a long-standing goal.
In a separate but related effort, the GFDVC is currently in the early stages of developing a best practices guide. This guide is being created in conjunction with the North Dakota Supreme Court. While its timing means it will not be available to directly inform the setup of the Bismarck court, it is intended to serve as a valuable resource to help guide future domestic violence courts that may be established in other parts of North Dakota.
