Georgia Domestic Violence Courts Best Practices

The Georgia Commission on Family Violence and the Judicial Council-Administrative Office of the Courts developed this resource to identify domestic violence best practices for courts in Georgia based on local and national research. A “domestic violence court” refers to courts that have a dedicated, separate calendar for domestic violence cases, assigned judge(s) trained in domestic violence dynamics, and an approach to the handling of domestic violence cases centered on victim safety and offender accountability. Georgia has a non-unified court system, and the way domestic violence cases are managed and heard can vary from court to court. This resource outlines a framework and best practices for domestic violence cases, and gives insight and resources on how to form a domestic violence court.