State and federal grants will help support legal staff of a program in Orange County to prosecute certain domestic violence cases.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler says his office has been awarded two grants designed to support his Misdemeanors Matter Program, to enhance the prosecution of misdemeanor domestic violence cases. A New York State grant will provide $75,000 in funding for an assistant district attorney in the program. The second grant, of close to $36,000, is being awarded under the federal Violence Against Women Act Formula Grant Program, and will provide partial funding for another assistant district attorney. Hoovler says misdemeanor domestic violence cases historically have been difficult to prosecute, because defendants are not motivated by the relatively low sanction in misdemeanor cases.
