Deborah Epstein

Director, Domestic Violence Clinic, Professor of Law

B.A., Brown; J.D., New York University

Areas of Expertise:

Professor Epstein joined the faculty as a visiting professor in 1993, and now serves as Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic and Associate Dean of...

Professor Epstein joined the faculty as a visiting professor in 1993, and now serves as Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic and Associate Dean of the Clinical Education and Public Interest and Community Service Programs. Prior to joining the law faculty, Professor Epstein practiced at the civil rights firm of Bernabei & Katz, representing plaintiffs in sex discrimination suits, and clerked for Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Marvin Katz. From 1994-96, Professor Epstein co-chaired a multi-disciplinary effort to create a new Domestic Violence Unit within the D.C. Superior Court that fundamentally restructured the way that the local justice system handles civil and criminal family abuse matters. Until 2001, she co-directed the D.C. Superior Court's Domestic Violence Intake Center and directed the Emergency Domestic Relations Project, a public interest organization providing legal and educational services to indigent victims of intimate abuse. She is a member of the Mayor's Commission on Violence Against Women, the D.C. Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, the D.C. Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, and has served on the Board of Directors of the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is the author of several publications in the areas of domestic violence and sexual harassment law.

Recent Scholarship

Books

Deborah Epstein, Laurie Kohn et al., Litigating Civil Protection Order Cases: A Practical Manual (D.C.: Georgetown University Law Center/Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE) 2011). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein, District of Columbia Superior Court Domestic Violence Benchbook (D.C.: District of Columbia Bar Association 9th ed. 2010).

Book Chapters and Collected Works

Deborah Epstein & Lisa A. Goodman, Domestic Violence Victims' Experiences in the Legal System, in Stress, Trauma, and Wellbeing in the Legal System 45-61 (Monica K. Miller & Brian H. Bornstein eds., New York: Oxford University Press 2013). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein et al., Domestic Relations, in 1 The District of Columbia Practice Manual (D.C.: District of Columbia Bar Association 19th ed. 2010). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein & Lisa A. Goodman, The Justice System Response to Domestic Violence, in 2 Violence Against Women and Children 215-235 (Jacquelyn W. White, Mary P. Koss & Alan E. Kazdin eds., D.C.: American Psychological Association 2010).

All Scholarship 2000 - Present

Forthcoming Works and Works in Progress

Deborah Epstein, Know Your Rights: A Victim's Guide to the Civil Protection Order (Wash., D.C.: Georgetown University Law Center forthcoming).

Books

Deborah Epstein, Laurie Kohn et al., Litigating Civil Protection Order Cases: A Practical Manual (D.C.: Georgetown University Law Center/Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE) 2011). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein, District of Columbia Superior Court Domestic Violence Benchbook (D.C.: District of Columbia Bar Association 9th ed. 2010).
Deborah Epstein & Lisa A. Goodman, Listening to Battered Women: A Survivor-Centered Approach to Advocacy, Mental Health, and Justice (Wash., D.C.: American Psychological Association 2008). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein, District of Columbia Superior Court Domestic Violence Benchbook (Wash., D.C.: District of Columbia Bar Association 5th ed. 2005).
Deborah Epstein, Laurie Kohn et al., Litigating Civil Protection Order Cases: A Practical Manual (Wash., D.C.: Georgetown University Law Center/Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE) 2005).
Deborah Epstein, Laurie Kohn et al., Litigating Civil Protection Order Cases: A Practical Manual (Wash., D.C.: Emergency Domestic Relations Project 3d ed. 2004).
Deborah Epstein, Laurie Kohn et al., Litigating Civil Protection Order Cases: A Practical Manual (Wash., D.C.: Emergency Domestic Relations Project 2d ed. 2003).
Deborah Epstein as member of the Committee on the Training Needs of Health Professionals to Respond to Family Violence, Confronting Chronic Neglect: The Education and Training of Health Professionals on Family Violence (Felicia Cohn, Marla E. Salmon & John D. Stobo eds., Wash., D.C.: National Academy Press 2002). [BOOK]

Contributions to Law Reviews and Other Scholarly Journals

Deborah Epstein, Laurie S. Kohn, Lauren Bennett Cattaneo, Lisa A. Goodman & Holly A. Zanville, The Victim-Informed Prosecution Project: A Quasi-Experimental Test of a Collaborative Model for Cases of Intimate Partner Violence, 15 Violence Against Women 1227-1247 (2009).
Deborah Epstein & Lisa Goodman, Refocusing on Women: A New Direction for Policy and Research on Intimate Partner Violence, 20 J. Interpersonal Violence 479-487 (2005). [W] [WWW]
Deborah Epstein, Margaret E. Bell & Lisa Goodman, Transforming Aggressive Prosecution Policies: Prioritizing Victims’ Long-Term Safety in the Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases, 11 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 465-498 (2003). [HEIN] [L] [W]
Deborah Epstein, Procedural Justice: Tempering the State’s Response to Domestic Violence, 43 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1843-1905 (2002). [HEIN] [L] [W] [SSRN] [Gtown Law]

Book Chapters and Collected Works

Deborah Epstein & Lisa A. Goodman, Domestic Violence Victims' Experiences in the Legal System, in Stress, Trauma, and Wellbeing in the Legal System 45-61 (Monica K. Miller & Brian H. Bornstein eds., New York: Oxford University Press 2013). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein et al., Domestic Relations, in 1 The District of Columbia Practice Manual (D.C.: District of Columbia Bar Association 19th ed. 2010). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein & Lisa A. Goodman, The Justice System Response to Domestic Violence, in 2 Violence Against Women and Children 215-235 (Jacquelyn W. White, Mary P. Koss & Alan E. Kazdin eds., D.C.: American Psychological Association 2010).
Deborah Epstein, Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence Cases: Rethinking the Roles of Prosecutors, Judges and the Court System, in Domestic Violence Law: A Comprehensive Overview of Cases and Sources 654-662 (Nancy K.D. Lemon ed., St. Paul, Minn.: West Group Publishers (2001). [BOOK]
Deborah Epstein, Improving Judicial Responsiveness to Domestic Violence Cases, in The Judiciary's Response to Domestic Violence (Onishi Sachiyo ed., Tokyo, Japan: Gendai Jinbunsha 2001).
Deborah Epstein, Redefining the State's Response to Domestic Violence: Past Victories and Future Challenges, in Domestic Violence Law: A Comprehensive Overview of Cases and Sources 28-39 (Nancy K. D. Lemon ed., St. Paul, Minn.: West Group Publishers (2001).
Deborah Epstein, The U.S. Battered Women's Movement: Lessons for Japan, in The Judiciary's Response to Domestic Violence (Onishi Sachiyo ed., Tokyo, Japan: Gendai Jinbunsha 2001).