Fostering Domestic Violence Prosecutions After Crawford/Davis: Proposal for Legislative Action

Abstract

This article advocates that two evidence rules be added to the Federal Rules of Evidence and state evidence codes modeled on the Federal Rules of Evidence. These new rules would serve to discourage the commission of acts of domestic violence as well as further the successful prosecution of many of those who actually do commit subsequent acts of domestic violence. Proposed Fed.R.Evid. 803(25) makes admissible statements made in connection with applications for protection orders when offered in a subsequent criminal case against the same person accused in the application. Such statements are "nontestimonial" under Crawford/Davis. Proposed Fed.R.Evid. 416 permits the introduction for any purpose to which relevant evidence of a defendant's commission of a prior offense of domestic violence in any criminal case in which same defendant is accused of an offense of domestic violence.