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Jack Peyton remembers the scene in vivid detail.

Eric Hill at the defense table.

Felicia Simmons at the plaintiff's table, a newborn in her arms.

In the back of the courtroom, Angela Gayden sat with a 3-month-old.

One man. Two girlfriends. Two babies.

It was Jan. 2 and Hill was accused of violating his probation in a domestic violence case involving Simmons.

Peyton, a Pima County justice of the peace, had to decide.

Should he send Hill to jail or give him another shot at probation? He gave Hill a second chance.

Two days later, Gayden was dead.

Tucson police say Hill murdered Gayden and dumped her body in the desert with Simmons' help.

At the time, Hill was on probation for beating Simmons, not Gayden.

Nearly three months later Peyton still has a difficult time discussing the case.

"I still haven't come to grips with it," Peyton said Wednesday, tears in his eyes. "I've had a lot of sleepless nights."

He replays that courtroom scene in his head again and again. But in the end, he had no choice but to let Hill go that day.

Hill hadn't committed any new crimes and he hadn't tested positive for alcohol or drugs, Peyton recalled. Hill had simply missed a couple of domestic-violence treatment classes, Peyton said.

"If I had arrested him, I would have been treating him differently than any other defendant I see," Peyton said.

Treating Hill differently would have broken one of the major tenets of Pima County's year-old Domestic Violence Court — consistency.

It was, after all, a lack of consistency in how batterers were treated in Pima County that led to creation of the court.

Suspects convicted of three or more domestic violence incidents are supposed to be charged with a felony. But because some suspects had multiple cases pending in front of multiple judges, prosecutors and judges missed prior convictions. Eighty percent of batterers were placed on unsupervised probation.

Batterers weren't always being held accountable, and, as a result, victims were distrustful and unwilling to testify.

Now, every person arrested on misdemeanor domestic violence charges is evaluated by a single prosecutor and arraigned by Peyton.

He keeps the most serious cases, those with prior convictions or accused of more serious crimes. First-time offenders are divvied up among his colleagues.

Patsy Cox, 44, said that having a court geared toward the needs of domestic violence victims made it possible for her to go through with the prosecution of her accused abuser.

Until now, Cox said, she has always been too afraid to help prosecutors take now-former boyfriend Elizardo Sepulveda to trial.

"I didn't want to go to court because he always threatened me. He always said I'd end up out in the desert somewhere," Cox said. "I was afraid of him for a long time, but I'm not anymore."

This time around, she said she feels much more confident thanks to victim advocates Amy Gomez and Cheryl Brown, Deputy Pima County Attorney Julie Glendinning and Peyton.

The advocates have educated her on the criminal justice system and informed her of court dates, Cox said. They also provided her information on available resources.

Sepulveda is awaiting trial on domestic violence charges.

A plea deal in the case fell through because Sepulveda wanted to be put on unsupervised probation. He said he didn't "dig authority" and thought he'd do fine without being monitored by a probation officer.

Peyton thought otherwise and rejected the deal.

The judge runs his courtroom on a strict schedule. Court hearings are at regular intervals, defendants' attendance is mandatory and postponements are rare.

At every hearing, two victim advocates explain to victims their rights and the process, and provide them resources. Those who choose not to attend hearings are called or notified by mail of the status of the case.

At a recent Wednesday court session, Peyton personally greeted every alleged victim and thanked them for being there. Every defendant was told what to expect and reminded to stay away from their alleged victim.

Again and again, he told defendants that unless the alleged victims wanted to speak with them, there was to be no contact — not by phone, e-mail, letter, text messaging or through a third party.

"I want to create an environment where victims feel they can come to court and be respected, feel safe and be heard," Peyton said.

Defendants who wanted to plead guilty were painstakingly advised of their rights and possible punishment.

Since March 21, 2007, Peyton has arraigned just over 2,800 people. One hundred and seventy of them have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty.

Of the 170, six have committed new crimes and had their probations revoked. Just over 100 remain on probation, and the rest successfully completed their probation.

Defendants are also always given a suspended jail sentence and hefty fine, so if they mess up, there will be consequences.

"I think the notion that the court and probation is keeping track of you is having an impact," Peyton said.

Glendinning is also pleased with the program.

"It is doing what we want it to do. We're holding defendants accountable, and the court has helped improve victims' experience as they go through their case and this hard time in their lives."

At any one time, there are between 350 and 375 defendants waiting to go to trial or for a plea offer, Peyton said. Originally, he expected to hold court on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but with the heavy caseload he squeezes domestic violence cases in on other days as well.

Among the people appearing before Peyton Wednesday were an 80-year-old repeat offender, two members of the military, a dentist and a teenage boy convicted of assaulting his parents.

Cox said Peyton's straightforward manner and sensitivity are greatly appreciated. For example, Peyton saw Sepulveda watching her during Wednesday's hearing and immediately instructed him to look at him instead.

"That made me feel really good," Cox said. "I really appreciated that, because (Sepulveda) knows how to push my buttons."

Peyton wants more victims involved in the process.

"These cases come in groups of one. There is nothing formulaic about these cases," Peyton said. "A judge doesn't get the full picture unless the victim is involved.

"A charge is just a charge. They are just words on a piece of paper, and they've got to be proved," he said.

Too many times, victims don't want to become involved, not just because they are afraid of the defendant, but because they're afraid of losing their homes, transportation and financial security, Peyton said.

"There are some women who will say, 'I will take a beating every couple of months for the sake of a roof over my head and food on the table,' " Peyton said. "People's needs don't stop at a couple of stitches."

That's part of where Gomez and Brown come in. Since the court began, the advocates said, they've developed wonderful relationships with dozens of service organizations and agencies devoted to helping victims.

They said their job is to "educate and empower" the victims of domestic violence.

They advise them about their rights and the process, while also providing them with information they may need if they ever do choose to leave their batterers, Gomez said.

If victims choose to stay with their batterers, the advocates don't judge them. And they certainly don't say "I told you so" if the batterer strikes them again, the pair said.

Brown said Peyton is the best choice to preside over Domestic Violence Court because he has a "good head and a good heart. ... He shows absolutely unwavering respect to both sides. He's the epitome of professionalism, but he also has a heart."

On StarNet: Watch a slide show from the Domestic Violence Court at azstarnet.com/slideshows.