>“No, no, no!” Black told me, her voice rising. “Domestic violence is a crime against the state of California, and the district attorney’s job is to work with what the Police Department has gathered at the crime scene and develop the evidence to present a case. That’s his job — it’s not the victim’s job.” >The notion that charging cases hinges on whether battered victims will stand up in court against people with whom they’re in a relationship — and may rely upon for income and housing — is so old-school, Black was surprised to hear the famously progressive district attorney use it as justification for dropping the case. It’s true that such a lack of cooperation can make proving a case more difficult, but it certainly doesn’t make it impossible. >“It’s so archaic,” Black said. “Oh, my God. It’s just shocking to me.” It's not enough for them to have drastically lowered standards of evidence and for (white) men to be able to be convicted purely on the strength of an accusation, but now they don't want to even have to bother testifying?