Abstract
This thesis attempts to expand the minimal existing research on the civil restraining order process and race/ ethnic discrimination in the judicial granting of such orders. The data for the following study was collected at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse in Sacramento, California and contains case information from a random sample of 308 temporary restraining order petitions filed between April 2009 and March 2010. The primary goal of this study is to determine if racial discrimination exists in the intimate partner violence civil restraining order process in Sacramento County. The secondary goal is to identify any racial/ethnic differences in rates of plaintiff appearance at permanent restraining order hearings. The study reveals that there are no statistically significant racial/ ethnic differences when receiving a temporary or permanent restraining order. Other variables were found to be significant and are discussed. This study also found that victims of Hispanic perpetrators are more likely to appear at a permanent restraining order hearing than whites. More specifically, the odds are twice as great that plaintiffs of Hispanic race/ethnicity will appear compared to white plaintiffs.