A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System

265 Pages·2013·1.739 MB·English

by  Leigh Goodmark

A Troubled Marriage
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A Troubled Marriage
Domestic Violence and the Legal System
Leigh Goodmark
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2012 by Leigh Goodmark
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goodmark, Leigh, 1969–
A troubled marriage : domestic violence and the legal system /
Leigh Goodmark.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–8147–3222–9 (cl : alk. paper)
ISBN 978–0–8147–3343–1 (ebook)
ISBN 978–0–8147–3344–8 (ebook)
1. Family violence—Law and legislation—United States.
2. Justice, Administration of—United States. I. Title.
KF9322.G65 2011
345.73'02555—dc23 2011028189
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials
to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Doug, Juliet, and Carter
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Developing the Legal Response 9
2 Defining Domestic Violence 29
3 Deconstructing the Victim 54
4 Separation 80
5 Mandatory Interventions 106
6 Reframing Domestic Violence Law and Policy: 136
Anti-Essentialist Principles
7 A Reconstructed Legal System 160
8 Beyond the Law 178
Notes 199
Bibliography 225
Index 245
About the Author 254
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Acknowledgments
For the past two years, I have had the luxury of thinking and writing
about the issues that I care about passionately. I have a great many people to
thank for that opportunity.
Deborah Gershenowitz, Gabrielle Begue, and NYU Press gave me the
chance to do something I have always wanted to do. I am grateful for the
opportunity and for their support of this project.
Dean Phil Closius and the University of Baltimore School of Law have
consistently provided me with what I needed to complete this book: research
assistance, time to write, and encouragement. Dean Closius’s unstinting sup-
port for the University of Baltimore’s Center on Applied Feminism has also
given me a platform for engaging others who are thinking and writing about
these issues. I am lucky to teach at a school with a gifted faculty that cares
deeply about feminism. Special thanks to Professors Michele Gilman, Jane
Murphy, Dionne Koller, Nancy Modesitt, Amy Dillard, Rachel Camp, Kim
Brown, Michael Meyerson, and Garrett Epps, who consistently encouraged
me as I wrote. Professor Margaret E. Johnson is the best friend, collabora-
tor, and colleague a person could have. I am grateful for her enthusiasm, her
belief in me and in this book, her tireless work on behalf of women subjected
to abuse, and her willingness to share her thoughts about that work with me.
Professors Melissa Breger, Margaret Drew, Catherine Klein, Tamara Kuen-
nen, Kelly Browe Olson, and Robin Runge all read drafts of chapters (and in
some cases, drafts of the whole book) and gave me the benefit of their expertise
and their invaluable insights. Professor Nancy Levit is a wonderful mentor. I
cannot thank her enough for her support, her line-editing skills, her pointed
questions, and her willingness to share her publishing experience.
Thanks to Washington University Law School, the University of Cincin-
nati School of Law, the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, Northeast-
ern University School of Law, the New England School of Law, and LatCrit
for giving me opportunities to present portions of the book and to benefit
from participants’ feedback. Portions of articles appearing in the Florida
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