The Fourth Judicial District Domestic Fatality Review Team is a collaboration of private, public, and non-profit organizations and citizen volunteers from throughout Hennepin County. The Domestic Fatality Review Team was created to improve policies and procedures to better address domestic violence in our county.

The Fourth Judicial District Domestic Fatality Review Team was established on August 1, 2000 through state legislation. The work of the Team is protected under Minnesota State Statute, Section 611A. 203; which outlines the Domestic Fatality Review Team’s purpose, the definition of domestic violence death, criteria for Team membership, terms of data practice and confidentiality, Team immunity, and our Team’s process for evaluation and reporting. 

The Domestic Fatality Review Team reviews cases of domestic homicide; homicides that are related to domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is defined as a pattern of physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, and/or stalking behaviors that occur within intimate or family relationships. It includes relationship dynamics between spouses, dating relationships, former and current partners, relatives, as well as parents and children. Occasionally the Team reviews homicides where the victim of the homicide is not the primary victim of the abuse.

Purpose:

The purpose of the Domestic Fatality Review Team is to examine deaths reported across Hennepin County resulting from domestic violence, in order to identify the circumstances that led to the homicide(s).

Goal:

The Team’s goal is to discover factors that will prompt improved identification, intervention and prevention efforts in similar cases. It is important to emphasize that the Team’s intention is not to place blame for the death, but rather to actively improve all systems that serve persons involved with domestic abuse.

Fourth Judicial District Domestic Fatality Review Team Leadership:

Project Chair: Honorable Judge Michael Burns

Project Director: Makenzie Nolan; Contact