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Alia B. Reddell

Keywords

spousal abuse, domestic violence, common law

Abstract

This Comment addresses the current scheme of domestic violence statutes, highlighting the inadequate state of domestic violence remedies and the ineffective law enforcement guidelines currently in place; it argues that the Arkansas State Legislature is in need of reforming its domestic violence policies. This recommendation is three-fold and proposes that Arkansas should abandon its current discretionary regime and adopt: (1) mandatory arrest policies; (2) statutory post-arrest procedures; and (3) mandatory prosecutorial policies to effectively protect domestic violence survivors. Part I will discuss the various types of domestic violence arrest statutes. Further, this Part will briefly highlight the significance of an arrest policy’s impact on available civil remedies. Particularly, this Part will provide a brief overview of current constitutional barriers to having an adequate recourse of seeking relief for domestic violence survivors. Part II will propose three principal recommendations to reforming Arkansas’s current domestic violence policies. Specifically, this Part will argue that Arkansas is in dire need of changing such policies by addressing the dangers of partner violence. Finally, this Comment will conclude by looking at the overall effectiveness of mandatory policies in deterring partner violence and providing for law enforcement efficiency.

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