3/10/2016 – Tulsa, OK — There is a new specialized docket court in Tulsa called the Felony Domestic Violence Court (FDVC) – its a first for Oklahoma and only one of 22 in the entire nation.
The FDVC officially began on Mar. 1 in the 14th Judicial District Tulsa District Court. The FDVC is similar to an existing court called the Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Court (MDVC). The FDVC is expected to start being assigned cases in April. When that happens, Doug Drummond and Clifford Smith will be the presiding judges.
The FDVC has been presented to prosecutors and defendants as a more streamlined way to move felon domestic violence cases through the legal system. The emphasis is reported to be on resolving the cases more quickly while ensuring the safety of the victims.
The FDVC is still considered a work in progress and judges and prosecutors are in communication with the University of Tulsa College of Law for assistance.
Defendants who go through the FDVC are subject to punishments ranging from probation to incarceration. The FDVC is reported to be designed to wrap services around and protect victims while addressing issues involving the defendant.
Proponents of the FDVC point to the successes realized by the MDVC when case dispositions were reduced from 160-days to just 80-days.
Offenses that qualify for the FDVC docket include (but are not limited to); assault and battery, human trafficking, maintaining a house of prostitution, engaging in prostitution, pandering, unlawful restraint of a female in a house of prostitution, permitting pandering, transporting a child for the purpose of prostitution and child prostitution.
While JohnTV applauds any effort to expedite criminal cases involving victims of pimps and human traffickers, while also encouraging rehabilitation, we are cautious this is not yet another tool to approach this sort of crime with a hug-a-thug mentality that is commonplace in Oklahoma County.
