Violence Unit

Choosing between friendship and moral duty after witnessing a brutal domestic assault, a Westminster woman alerted authorities -- and her friend was arrested.Now she is encouraging others to come forward against domestic violence and praising the quick response to her report by the domestic violence unit of the Carroll County state's attorney's office.Christina Leatherman, 21, said she knew she had to act before something even more horrible happened than what she saw that September morning when -- according to her account and police reports -- Beth Hoffman was assaulted and she and her 4-week-old son were threatened with a kitchen knife.

Jerry F. Barnes, state's attorney for Carroll County, received a Governor's Citation yesterday for his efforts in fighting domestic violence.State Sen. Larry E. Haines, chairman of county's legislative delegation, and Dels. Nancy R. Stocksdale and Joseph M. Getty made the presentation to Barnes on behalf of Gov. Parris N. Glendening in a brief ceremony in Westminster.Barnes praised the members of his 4-month-old special unit on domestic violence.He said 10 percent of his office's prosecutions involve domestic violence, and those numbers will top 500 cases for the second year in a row.Melissa Ottey Hockensmith, special prosecutor for the unit, said active cases number more than 200.Barnes said many prosecutions are difficult because victims are permitted in first-time offenses not to testify against abusive spouses.

The brother of a Hampstead woman found strangled in her home last week after seeking court protection from her estranged husband urged more than 100 law enforcement agents and victims advocates from throughout Maryland yesterday to step up the fight against domestic violence.Kicking off a one-day training seminar on sexual assault and domestic violence, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend asked for a silent tribute in memory of Patricia A. Titus before John Biglin told the gathering that his sister's death has led him to stand up for the rights of women.

Cases are backing up in a new city domestic-violence court -- designed to speed justice for battered women -- because there are no public defenders to represent indigent suspects.It has been that way for the past month, since the court opened to give specialized treatment to the burgeoning docket of domestic-violence cases. The goal was to consolidate cases in a courtroom where those involved knew the issue well.But, instead, say domestic-violence advocates and defense attorneys, even more cases than usual are delayed because no money is available to put public defenders in the courtroom.

The Maryland State Police are seeking federal help in launching two projects -- one in Carroll and one serving five Eastern Shore counties -- that for the first time would provide a coordinated approach to the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence cases in rural areas.The agency is requesting between $500,000 and $700,000 to hire investigators who would specialize in domestic violence, expand shelters for victims and their children, and train police officers in the most effective ways to respond to domestic violence calls.

Responding to concerns about increasing crime in southern Harford County, the sheriff's office plans to open an Edgewood station, the first outside the Bel Air headquarters.The station is to open in March at the site of a vacant 7-Eleven store on Gateway Drive, and would be home to the county's proposed domestic violence unit.Sheriff Joseph Meadows said the station is needed to combat crime, including drug-related violence, in communities along the U.S. 40 corridor."These areas have more than their fair share of problems," he told the county council at its Tuesday meeting.

There's a lot of talk about the danger of street crime i Baltimore. But for many women, unsafe streets are less threatening than the danger they face in their own homes from abusive husbands or boyfriends. Equally frightening is the fact that few crimes that are classified as "domestic violence" ever get pursued and punished.Last month, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee issued a report detailing the extent of the problem in the city, a problem that extends far beyond unruly or abusive men bent on victimizing women.