Interviewer: It seems that domestic violence cases have become more prevalent and in the spotlight of the media, do you agree?
Gary Churak: They have mainly because of the Defense of Women Act, which funded a whole domestic violence courts. The domestic violence courts are being funded in part by the federal government. The prosecutors are being funded in part by the federal government.
The Act allotted more resources for the prosecution of these cases. It got to the point where they got so prevalent and everything that the bottom line is in most jurisdictions, if a police officer shows up at your house somebody’s going to jail.
Interviewer: When was that enacted?
Gary Churak: It was the Bush Administration that initially started it and it’s been renewed, I think just recently, by Congress.
Interviewer: Have you seen an increase in these kinds of cases?
Gary Churak: Definitely. They have actually 2 court rooms with judges that only hear domestic violence cases.
Interviewer: Is there a typical age for the accused or the victim?
Gary Churak: No, It runs the gamut from actually kids getting into altercations with their parents or brothers or sisters to basically any age. I’ve seen 65 and 70-year-old people charged and I’ve seen 20-year-old people charged and I’ve seen 13-year-old people charged. There’s no particular age that it affect
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