Judge Paul Gallagher  will preside over an estimated 350 cases of felony domestic violence a year. He says abusers typically fall into three categories.

GALLAGHER:“We estimate that about a third of the domestic violence cases are so serious that the person will go to prison. Then we estimate another third are relatively not serious, and those people will be placed on regular probation. It’s the last third where people do have serious problems but there’s a belief that they can be rehabilitated if they come to understand what’s causing their behaviors. And it’s that third a lot of time and resources dealing with.”

The court was created using part of a 750-thousand dollar federal grant from the Department of Justice. Officially it started October first, but Gallagher says it will take a few months for him to finish up his other cases. He says the victims and offenders will benefit from the consistency of having one judge.

GALLAGHER: “Right now we have 10 different courts handling domestic violence cases, and everyone deals with them differently. But more importantly it gives an opportunity to focus on people violent to their loved ones and try to figure out what’s causing the violence and what can be done about it.”

Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh spearheaded the court’s development. She says she’s seen people come through the system six or seven times on domestic violence charges.

They’ll be screened to see if they qualify for a new kind of probation called the Batterer’s Intervention Program. It will include a year’s worth of weekly therapy sessions combined with close supervision by victim advocates and probation officers.

BEVAN-WALSH: “And in many cases there’s a substance abuse problem. So if that can be brought under control, that will likely have a major impact on the violence that’s going on the relationship.”

The Center for Court Innovation is a national group that helped Summit County set up its court. Liberty Aldrich is the center’s spokeswoman. She says about 300 domestic violence courts are operating nationally, and their success rates vary. She says unlike drug courts that rely heavily on therapy, repeat abusers need a combination of treatments.

ALDRICH: “We need all the pieces together. You can’t simply put someone in class or therapy. You need that regular meeting with the probation officer. You need judicial supervision. You need connections to victim advocacy. And you need the classes.”

The only other domestic violence court in Ohio handles only misdemeanors.  It’s in Mansfield.