- Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill advocates for a holistic approach in prosecuting domestic violence cases.
- He emphasizes understanding victims' complex needs beyond seeking court convictions.
- Prosecutors nationwide gather in Salt Lake City for a domestic violence conference.
SALT LAKE CITY — When Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill was a line prosecutor, he recalled working on a domestic violence case and preparing for trial with the survivor.
By going over her police report and having her agree to alleged abuses committed against her, Gill said he felt good about going to court and winning the case. But after some time of going back and forth with her, the woman finally told Gill, in so many words, "Stop. Clearly, you're not getting this," he recalled Wednesday.
"OK. You're right. In this case, you're right. He beat the crap out of me. And guess what? He beat the crap out of me many times before," the woman told Gill.
But what the woman said next was something Gill was not expecting, and something he has not forgotten.
"She says to me, 'And guess what, Sim? He's going to beat the hell out of me in two weeks. And he's going to beat the hell out of me in a month. Do you know why I stay with (him)? I stay with him because that's the only way I can get medical coverage for my kids who are special needs. That's why I stay with him,'" Gill recounted. "I am willing to take the beatings because this is more important to me."
It's because of moments like that that Gill says prosecutors should look at a more holistic approach in addressing domestic violence cases rather than simply seeking convictions in court.
This week, prosecutors from across the United States are meeting for the seventh annual National Association of Prosecuting Attorneys Domestic Violence Prosecution Conference. This is the first time Salt Lake City has hosted the conference. Over the course of two and a half days, the conference will provide prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates involved in the prosecution of domestic violence crimes with strategies for investigating and prosecuting such cases.
During his welcome remarks on Wednesday, Gill and his staff emphasized that prosecutors can't only focus on wins and losses in court, where an attorney's success is often measured. Rather, a layered approach with other community partners to focus on what a victim actually needs should be top of mind. He acknowledged that domestic violence cases are complex and the job of a prosecutor with a large caseload and an understaffed office isn't easy, especially when trying to communicate with a victim who may not even want to be there.
"And somehow you're supposed to interact, decipher, communicate and convince them that a stranger — you — somehow is going to make their life better," he said. "Survivors are not always cooperative, often untrusting, even hostile."
Gill says that's why prosecutors should think about changing how they approach a domestic violence case and take into consideration what else is going on in a victim's life, such as mental health, economic needs and how children may be involved, rather than simply looking for a win in court.
"Maybe what we need to think about in a more broader, holistic way is what are those aggravators? What are those things we can mitigate against as a comprehensive solution, as a comprehensive model to address this very complex issue of domestic violence?" he opined.
Gill also shared a story of a survivor and the connection she has to one of his staff members. A woman named Cassalee, a victim of domestic violence, was brought to Salt Lake City from out of state to testify at a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors say Cassalee was scared and taking the witness stand was very difficult for her.
Because she was from out of state, she spent a lot of time with Jennifer Hamilton, a victim advocate with the district attorney's office. Hamilton says Cassalee told her that she deals with a lot of the trauma in her life through songwriting. That's when she noticed lyrics that Hamilton had written in 2020 and posted on her office wall.
Cassalee took a picture of the lyrics. Two days later, she sent Hamilton a copy of a full song she had composed and recorded using those lyrics. The song, "Behind Closed Doors," written with a rock beat, was played Wednesday at the conference.
Some of the topics that will be discussed at the conference include immigration and domestic violence, brain injury caused by intimate partner violence, considerations for working with children exposed to domestic violence, navigating difficult conversations with victims, handling a case load, strangulation, stalking and identifying human trafficking through domestic violence.
