JANESVILLE — Rock County’s circuit judges this week voted to locally extend “no contact” protections to victims of domestic violence until the offender’s first court date, on most arrests.
It marks a significant change. Previously in Rock County, those protections ended 72 hours after an arrest, based on statewide law.
Per state law, if the arrested person is charged criminally, judges and court commissioners can make “no contact” with the victim a condition of the offender’s bond — but not until their first court appearance.
With an offender’s first court date often 6-8 weeks after an arrest, there’s nothing in the state law that protects a victim after the first 72 hours, until that first court appearance, a release Friday noted.
“This week, Rock County implemented new rules to better protect victims of domestic violence. These new rules will extend victim protections, get judicial oversight sooner, and allow victims to have more input on how to be sustainably protected,” a release Friday said.
It’s one of several changes announced Friday, all further protecting Rock County victims of domestic violence, according to the release from the Rock County District Attorney’s Office.
Additionally, under new policy, many initial court dates for domestic violence will be sped up to get judicial oversight in 2-4 weeks, instead of 6-8 weeks. Another change is the creation of a new form that domestic violence victims can fill out with law enforcement at the time of the 911 call.
The judge or commissioner setting bond conditions will now take into account a victim’s suggestions on what a sustainable “no contact” might look like.
“This should help victims detail what kind of contact they need to have, or want to have,” the release said.
Rock County District Attorney Jason Sanders said “the smarter no-contact should be a real benefit,” to domestic violence victims.
“Because relationships can be complicated. What if you need the person who hit you to parent the kids while you’re at work? Under the old system, the only way to make that happen would be to waive the no-contact. Which waives your protection. Now, you’ll be able to express that to the judge, and maybe we can get a smarter bond condition, protecting victims in a way that fits their lives.”
What led to the change
“Our state law has a hole in it,” Sanders said in the release. “We can’t rewrite the law for the whole state, but we thought it was our duty to try to fix the problem for victims here in our community.”
Last April, the Rock County Law Enforcement Association asked Sanders for an advisory opinion about 72-hour domestic violence violations. This led in May to Sheriff Curt Fell changing some policies to provide some improvements in victim protections, the release said.
But the district attorney and law enforcement alone could not solve the biggest problem they identified — that after 72 hours, if the arrested person does not have a bond, there is nothing protecting victims.
Sanders wrote a 5-page letter on behalf of law enforcement, explaining their concerns about protecting victims, and asking the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for a solution.
The council’s Domestic Violence Workgroup — whose members include Sanders and law enforcement, judges, victim advocates, the clerk of circuit court, a Rock County supervisor, and a representative from the public defender’s office — brought forward a plan that was drafted by Circuit Judge Ashley Morse.
It became reality this week when it was adopted by of Rock County’s circuit judges.
Sanders was clear that the credit for the change belongs to the domestic violence workgroup.
“It would be impossible for change like this to happen without some serious thought, and some serious work, by people throughout our whole county,” he said. “I’m grateful that law enforcement trusted me to bring me their concerns…and trusted me to speak on their behalf,” to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
“I’m grateful to the CJCC for working so hard to find a plan we could unanimously endorse. And I’m grateful to our judges for changing our local rules,” Sanders continued.
“None of this is someone’s everyday job description. It only happens because Rock County is full of decent folk trying to do the right thing.”
Members of Rock County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council include:
- Rock County Clerk of Circuit Court Amanda Nelson
- Rock County District Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Coordinator Andrea Ehret
- Circuit Court Judge Ashley Morse
- Bradley London and David Rossmiller of the Rock County Sheriff’s Department
- Christian Dalton and David Elrod of the Beloit Police Department
- Rock County Justice System Strategist Elizabeth Pohlman McQuillen
- Rock County Supervisor Erica Boehlke
- Rock County District Attorney’s Office Deferred Prosecution Coordinator Heather Korth
- Rock County District Attorney Jason Sanders
- YWCA Rock County Director of Empowerment Services Jessica Campbell
- Rock County Court Commissioner Jodi Timmerman
- Justice Point Case Manager Kara Davis
- Rock County Human Services Supervisor Kelly Ganzow
- Family Services Executive Director Kelsey Hood-Christenson
- Justice Point Program Director Michael Gutjahr
- SARP Program Manager Paula Vestin
- Edgerton Police Chief Robert Kowalski
- Rogelio Carrasco or the Janesville Police Department
- Department of Corrections Supervisor Sara Leidholdt
- Attorney Spencer Olson of the State Public Defender’s Office
- DEFY Advocate & Program Supervisor Yessenia Jimenez
