Calley Cerano sits in a courtroom three days a week waiting for people who may not even show up.
But Cerano isn’t a judge or even a lawyer. The criminal justice senior is part of the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office Domestic Violence Unit. The program is aimed at making it easier for domestic abuse victims to continue with trials.
“At the court we are a liaison between the victims of domestic abuse and the prosecutors,” Cerano said. “We make sure the victims feel safe and get to tell their side of the story.”
Cerano works about 24 hours a week unpaid. She and other interns answer questions or concerns victims might have about the court process and offers them resources about counseling and shelters.
The program began in 1998 when the prosecutors office received about $50,000 in federal funding.
The money pays for Maria Valayil, the one full-time staff member, and the travel expenses and supplies for the unit.
Valayil, the program’s coordinator, said it has expanded a lot since she began in 1999. Interns used to provide support only for people who called them. Now, interns get a list of all the domestic abuse cases and attempt to contact every victim.
“The criminal justice system is confusing at the least, frightening at the worst,” she said. “This program has increased victim safety and defender accountability.”
But Cerano said it’s hard to see the never-ending list of victims every week. The prosecutors office saw 912 domestic violence cases last year.
Keithan Langston, a 2001 MSU graduate, worked as an intern for the program last fall. He said he remembered repeatedly seeing certain names for domestic abuse.
“All you need is to show there is one name you see over and over and you say ‘Hey this just isn’t something that happens and goes away, it needs to be dealt with,’” he said.
Cerano said she is surprised by the number of victims that come to court with the defendant.
“A lot (of victims) change their minds saying things are better,” she said. “But if you read the case and she’s been dragged down the stairs and her head was bashed into the wall and then she says she wants to drop it, how do you believe her?”
But she said she understands the victim’s fear and desire not to come to court - which result in a low number of cases going to trial.
“I think the breaking-up period is the most dangerous time for the victim because the defendant is losing control of them,” she said. “That’s when their life is in danger.
“I don’t blame any of them for not showing up. If my life was in danger I don’t know what I would do.”
But Langston said he thinks the program is working, if not to curb domestic violence, then at least to show abusers the consequences.
“I can’t imagine what would be going on if there wasn’t this program,” he said. “We would have people beating the crap out of each other every day - and that’s no good.”
