This thesis focuses on seven egregious court cases where judges treated domestic violence victims horribly and lacked sympathy for what they went through. I looked at cases where judges treated victims with a lack of respect and human decency to show that although there are good judges out there, there are also terrible ones who have a negative impact on victims. Through the cases I analyzed there are examples of victim blaming, ignorance, and lack of empathy. These cases show the sad reality some domestic violence victims face when they decide to make the courageous decision to come forward and trust the state with their livelihood. By the end of this thesis, readers should be able to recognize common themes that emerged from the judicial language used in court and understand how damaging judges can be when they treat victims this way. Readers should also see how detrimental it can be to other victims to have these cases be public and see how victims before them have been treated. It can ignite fear in them to come forward and deter them from seeking justice in their own lives.

The purpose of this study to bring awareness to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among Native American children. The study is a layered autoethnographic study which drew on research completed on ASD and modeled autoethnographic work completed by Henson (2011) and Sughrua (2013). The premise of the study was to examine my experiences as a Native American mother who has a child diagnosed with ASD. The research completed is seen through my ethnic and cultural lens and focused on my son, ASD, minority children, and how race may have effected date of diagnosis.