Understanding Judicial Terrorism®
Domestic violence, especially in the form of coercive control, does not always end when a relationship ends. For some survivors, the judicial system becomes another setting in which an abuser continues exercising power and control.
Judicial Terrorism® describes the unique dynamic created when an abuser uses the U.S. judicial system to continue domestic violence long after separation or divorce. The abuse may unfold through repeated litigation, financial pressure, discovery, parenting disputes, threats, delay, or other tactics that force the survivor to remain engaged with the abuser through the court process.
Defining the Terms
Judicial Terrorist®
An abuser who uses coercive control to manipulate a judicial proceeding.
Judicial Terrorism®
The unique dynamic created by an abuser between a victim of domestic violence and the court because of the abuser’s use of the U.S. judicial system for continued domestic violence long after separation and divorce.
What Judicial Terrorism® May Look Like
Judicial Terrorism® is generally understood through a pattern of conduct rather than any single disagreement, filing, or unfavorable court result. Depending on the circumstances, the pattern may include:
- Repeated or strategically timed legal filings intended to overwhelm, punish, or exhaust the survivor
- Using discovery, subpoenas, or demands for information as tools of harassment, surveillance, or financial pressure
- Withholding, obscuring, or repeatedly disputing financial information to increase the cost and duration of litigation
- Using parenting disputes, exchanges, communication, or access to children to maintain control over the abuse victim
- Mischaracterizing a survivor’s protective responses as instability, hostility, or unwillingness to cooperate
- Creating unnecessary disputes, refusing reasonable resolutions, or prolonging litigation to keep the survivor engaged for the abuser’s own purposes rather than to advance a legitimate legal purpose
- Using the formality and authority of the judicial process to reinforce threats, intimidation, or coercive control
Not every difficult, contentious, or prolonged case constitutes Judicial Terrorism®. The surrounding history, the pattern of coercive control, the purpose and effect of the conduct, and the cumulative impact on the survivor must all be considered.
Why It Matters
Court proceedings are often evaluated one motion, hearing, or allegation at a time. That approach can make it difficult to recognize a broader pattern of coercive control in litigation that extends across months or years.
A survivor may be required to repeatedly respond to the person who abused them, disclose sensitive information, incur substantial legal expenses, defend protective decisions, and navigate parenting or financial disputes while also attempting to rebuild a safe and stable life. The cumulative impact may affect the survivor’s safety, finances, health, parenting, employment, and ability to meaningfully participate in the judicial process.
VSHF’s Work
Victims’ Safe Harbor Foundation works to prevent Judicial Terrorism® by educating the public, judiciary, lawyers, and advocates about the impact Judicial Terrorists® can have on victims of domestic violence and child abuse.
VSHF’s attorneys bring legal, academic, research, and lived experience to this work. Through representation, professional consulting, research, publications, presentations, and community education, VSHF seeks to improve recognition of coercive control and the ways judicial proceedings may be used to continue abuse.
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