Crawford County Avalanche
On Sept. 16, The COOR Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence hosted a round table discussion on handling domestic violence cases in the court system. Judge Thomas Phillips, Erin House, special assistant attorney general, Noelle Moeggenberg, assistant prosecutor, Robert Brown, Probation Department and Jo Bullis, Program Director,
Women's Resource Center, all from Traverse City, and Judge Hunter, Crawford County Family Court Judge, sat on the afternoon panel. Other important figures in attendance were Judge Sutton, Judge Noel, Judge Dosson, Mark Jernigan, Roscommon County prosecutor, and LaDonna Schultz and Mark Williams, Ogemaw County prosecutors. Joel Sheltrown, 103rd District House Representative, also attended some of the discussion and toured River House shelter on September 30.
The Round Table Discussion centered around the pros and cons of developing a fast track system for domestic violence cases whereby one prosecutor handles all domestic violence cases. Crawford County has been assigned a special prosecutor and will be working with River House and the Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board to implement the program. "This is an exciting time for Crawford County," says Rhoda Hacker,
Director for River House. "Because domestic violence is such a complicated issue, going through the court process often requires extra attention to consistently ensure that victims receive justice and batterers are held accountable."
The COOR Coalition will also be working with Roscommon, Ogemaw and Oscoda Counties to bring a special prosecutor to their court systems.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For additional information, please contact River House, Inc. at 989-348-3169 or visit their website at www riverhousesheleter.org.