Devine Applauds Governor's Approval of Domestic Violence Reform
State’s Attorney Richard A. Devine today lauded the enactment of a bill initiated by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, House Bill 3588, which gives prosecutors the ability to present evidence of previous incidents of violence to the court.
“The prosecution of domestic violence is hindered by a number of factors unique to this type of crime,” commented Devine. “The ability to introduce evidence of other acts of violence will have a substantial impact on those factors and will help bridge the gap between traditional evidence law and the reality of domestic violence”.
The ability to show the propensity to commit these violent acts will help prosecutors reveal a pattern of domestic violence by the accused. It will also make it easier for the court to determine if the incident in question is a fabrication, an isolated event or simply an accident. Only California and Alaska allow propensity evidence in domestic violence cases.
HB 3588 passed in the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 110 to 6 and received unanimous approval in the Senate. The bill was supported by the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Association, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It was signed into law by Governor Blagojevich this week.”
# # #
