leighgoodmark

Leigh Goodmark is an anti-violence advocate and a professor at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, where she directs the Gender Violence Clinic. She is the author of A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System.

Posts Written by Leigh

Why Didn’t the NFL Believe Molly Brown?

Kicker Josh Brown of the New York Giants reportedly abused his ex-wife in multiple cities over many years.  Molly Brown told New York police that Brown had assaulted her more than 20 times, beginning during her pregnancy in 2009.  According to ESPN, Molly Brown called police in nearly every city in which the couple lived.  In 2013, Molly Brown obtained a protective order against her husband, based on threats to kill her.  In 2015, Josh Brown allegedly pushed his wife into a mirror, threw her on the floor, jumped on top of her, kicked a door into her son, and kicked a chair into her.  Josh Brown was arrested for the 2015 incident.  In response, the NFL suspended Brown for one game.

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Jailing Rape and Domestic Violence Victims is an Abuse of Prosecutors’ Power

When prosecutors ask judges to jail people, we assume that it’s because the person has committed some crime and is so dangerous that the person should not be out among the public. We hope that prosecutors will balance their pursuit of justice against the costs of prosecution to the victim and witnesses involved. We trust that prosecutors understand the tremendous power that they wield and use it wisely.

When prosecutors ask judges to jail people, we assume that it’s because the person has committed some crime and is so dangerous that the person should not be out among the public. We hope that prosecutors will ...