Mandatory Penalties, Victim Cooperation, and the Judicial Processing of Domestic Abuse Assault Cases

In 1991, the state of Iowa instituted a mandatory 2-day jail sentence and mandatory participation in a batterers' education program for conviction of misdemeanor domestic abuse assault. This article examines the impact of mandatory penalties on case processing, convictions, and sentences in one Iowa county. This examination shows that, although those convicted of domestic abuse assault did receive greater penalties, conviction rates declined considerably. Furthermore, cases became more complex and time-consuming. Mandatory penalties produced these results by reducing the percentage of defendants who pleaded guilty and increasing the importance of the cooperation of the victim for obtaining convictions.

Processing Workers' Compensation Claims in Illinois

The substitution of no-fault compensation for recoveries at tort law in cases of work-related injuries would, according to turn-of-the-century reformers, minimize resort to adjudication. Charges of unanticipated controversy and excessive litigation under state compensation statutes, however, have been raised periodically for several decades.This article presents the findings of current research into the prevalence of disputes, attorney involvement, and court suits under workers' compensation legislation in Illinois, the locale of specific criticism. The author offers an explanation of the obstacles to discovering the incidence of work-related injuries, along with a description of the handling of both undisputed and disputed claims. By following the itinerary of a sample of 6, 652 compensation claims filed during 1978 through several stages of administrative and judicial processing, she then examines the persistence of these primarily disputed claims from initiation to resolution. Her major finding is that under workers' compensation legislation in Illinois, litigation, whether defined as attorney involvement or court action, may not be as excessive as charged. The research uncovers the need for more precise standards for defining a surfeit of controversy and offers suggestions for meeting this need.