More than a third of the most serious criminal domestic violence cases statewide have been dropped in the four years since South Carolina’s attorney general ordered prosecutors not to drop any unless absolutely necessary.

Nearly 4,000 charges of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, and third- or subsequent-offense criminal domestic violence were dismissed, a study by The State newspaper found. Those cases accounted for 36 percent of the most serious domestic violence charges brought from July 1, 2001, to April 1.

In addition, charges in more than 1,400 other serious criminal domestic violence cases were pleaded down.

Combined, the dismissals and reduced charges accounted for 49 percent of the approximately 11,000 cases made between July 1, 2001, and April 30, according to the analysis of S.C. Office of Court Administration data.

“It’s just an abysmal record,” said Laura Hudson, a longtime advocate with the S.C. Victim Assistance Network.

Hudson and other victim advocates said the high dismissal rates partly explain why the state has led the nation in recent years in the rate of women killed by men.

The percentage of domestic violence cases dismissed has dropped, The State found. In 2001, a study found that 54 percent of cases over a five-year period were dismissed.

The State’s study follows another analysis by the newspaper that found, over the past five years, prosecutors statewide accepted more than 1,800 suspects charged with criminal domestic violence into pre-trial intervention programs that allow the charges to be dropped.

Criminal domestic violence issues have been a hot topic statewide for the past month since controversial comments by state Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston, about a bill calling for tougher penalties that died in committee.

The outrage led to a revised bill that unanimously passed the House and appears to be on a fast track through the Senate.

Of 10,778 serious charges made from July 1, 2001, through April 30, the newspaper’s latest analysis found, 3,867 charges were dropped, or about 36 percent.

Another 1,457 charges of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and third- and subsequent-offense criminal domestic violence were pleaded down to lower criminal domestic violence charges, simple assault, or simple assault and battery. The reduced charges represented 28 percent of the approximately 5,100 pleas.

Aggravated criminal domestic violence carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence; third and subsequent offenses have maximum three-year sentences. Lower criminal domestic violence and simple assault charges carry no more than 30-day jail sentences.

Some serious criminal domestic violence charges routinely are being dismissed, even though then-Attorney General Charlie Condon in May 2001 ordered prosecutors not to do so unless absolutely necessary. The “no-drop” order was issued after an analysis by The State found 54 percent of 4,351 examined cases were dropped over a five-year period.

TRAINING ISSUES

Victim advocates say prosecutors can improve the way they handle criminal domestic violence cases. But they question whether prosecutors are being hampered by police or judges who are not well-trained in handling criminal domestic violence cases. The criminal domestic violence bill in the Senate would require magistrate, municipal, family and circuit court judges to be trained in domestic violence issues.

Of the 3,867 dismissed charges, nearly 90 percent, or 3,443, were dropped by prosecutors, the latest study found. The remaining charges were dismissed by circuit court judges or at preliminary hearings, which typically are held in magistrate or municipal courts.

Prosecutors say they treat domestic violence cases very seriously, but there are legitimate reasons to dismiss certain cases, such as a lack of evidence.

“Not all dismissals can be laid at the feet of prosecutors,” said Spartanburg and Cherokee counties Solicitor Trey Gowdy,who led all 16 solicitors in the number of dismissals, 585, and dismissals made by prosecutors, 48 percent. “The thing that frustrates prosecutors the most is that when we see CDV (statistics) on a piece of paper, there is no context.”

When dismissals by prosecutors and judges are combined, the 4th Circuit of Darlington, Dillon, Chesterfield and Marlboro counties had the state’s highest rate — 54 percent.

By comparison, the 5th Circuit of Richland and Kershaw counties had the lowest rate — 21 percent. The 11th Circuit of Lexington, Saluda, Edgefield and McCormick counties ranked near the middle with a 38 percent rate.

‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’

Attorney General Henry McMaster said the statewide dismissal rate is too high.

“The figures show we’ve got a big problem at the circuit court level,” he said.

McMaster has maintained Condon’s qualified no-drop order. While dismissal rates remain high, he doesn’t believe the order is being violated on a widespread basis.

McMaster said the dismissal rate for criminal domestic violence cases in circuit court is the “tip of the iceberg” when compared to the number of dismissals in the state’s magistrate and municipal courts, where most of the estimated 36,000 annual domestic violence cases are heard. Most of the lower-court cases are first offenses.

The state keeps no detailed statistics on criminal domestic violence cases in those courts, where police officers prosecute most cases.

Early last year, McMaster launched a program where volunteer lawyers act as prosecutors in the lower-level courts. He estimated only a handful of the nearly 900 cases handled so far in Columbia and Kershaw, Orangeburg and York counties by volunteer lawyers have been dropped.

Prosecutors are more likely to get convictions in those courts than police officers because lawyers are better trained, he said. Of the 892 cases handled through the attorney general’s program, 589, or about 66 percent, have resulted in convictions — mostly pleas, figures show.

JUDICIAL DISCRETION

Hundreds of serious criminal domestic violence charges were dismissed at preliminary hearings. Those hearings typically are held before magistrate or municipal judges, though the trials are in circuit courts.

Over the past four years, 393 charges were dropped at preliminary hearings. Another 31 were dropped by circuit court judges.

The 4th Circuit — made up of Darlington, Dillon, Marlboro and Chesterfield counties — led all 16 circuits in those categories with a 13-percent dismissal rate. All but one of the 50 dismissals happened during preliminary hearings.

But several chief county magistrates said the findings didn’t match their experience.

“You’ll never see me dismiss a CDV of a high and aggravated nature unless I was sure it didn’t occur,” said Charles Spivey, Dillon County’s chief magistrate.

Chesterfield County Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Burch said she can’t remember the last time she handled a serious criminal domestic violence case at a preliminary hearing. Still, she said dismissals are warranted in certain cases.

“If you’ve got a girlfriend who takes out a warrant on the boyfriend and they make up and that’s all you’ve got, then you don’t got a case,” she said.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

The attorney general’s qualified no-drop order doesn’t allow cases to be dropped solely because victims don’t want to prosecute. But it does allow dismissal when there is no other evidence.

Gowdy, who had the state’s highest dismissal rate among prosecutors, said he complies with the order.

He said his main reasons for dismissing aggravated, and third- or subsequent-offense criminal domestic violence cases are a lack of physical evidence, the inability to locate the victim or key witnesses for trial, or the victim’s refusal to cooperate.

Those reasons accounted for 272 dismissals in Spartanburg County during the past 4½ years, his office records say. The newspaper’s analysis found his office dismissed 585 criminal domestic violence cases in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties since July 2001 — 137 more than the next highest circuit.

Gowdy said dozens of criminal domestic violence cases are dismissed because defendants are convicted of more serious charges. He cited the case of Marion Lindsey, sentenced to death after he was convicted ofmurdering his estranged wife. Gowdy said he dismissed two criminal domestic violence charges against Lindsey after the capital murder conviction.

Gowdy, who has two prosecutors specializing in criminal domestic violence cases, said his records show the number of “successful prosecutions greatly outweighs the number of discretionary dismissals.”

Gowdy’s dismissal rate of 48 percent in the past four years was 8 percentage points lower than his rate in the 2001 study.

Solicitor Barbara Morgan, who had the second-lowest dismissal rate — 31 percent — in 2001, had the second highest rate this time — 43 percent.

“I don’t think we’ve changed our vigilance on domestic violence,” said Morgan, who represents Aiken, Barnwell and Bamberg counties.

Morgan said she has a special prosecutor assigned to criminal domestic violence cases in magistrate courts, and that her office offers domestic violence training to law enforcement officers.

CHANGING ATTITUDES

Vicki Bourus, director of the S.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, suspects the high dismissal rates statewide are largely due to poor investigations by police. State law mandates arrests in criminal domestic violence cases when there is probable cause.

“If on the front end, the law enforcement officer would do a more thorough investigation of the crime, we probably would have better cases to prosecute without victims (cooperating),” she said.

Better investigation includes taking witness statements, photographing injuries, and obtaining medical records and 911 tapes, she said.

Jeff Moore, director of the S.C. Sheriff’s Association, said his organization last year sponsored 23 training sessions statewide on domestic violence investigations.

Moore said officers’ attitudes over the years toward domestic violence have improved greatly. He recalled some early sensitivity training for male officers in which they were asked if it was ever OK for a man to hit a woman.

“We always would have two or three people who would raise their hand and say it would be justifiable,” Moore said.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.