HB 79 – AS INTRODUCED
2005 SESSION
05/10
HOUSE BILL 79
This bill:
I. Provides for protective orders that prohibit the plaintiff from contacting the defendant.
II. Permits the court to sanction a plaintiff who falsely uses a protective order to retaliate against the defendant and to arrest a plaintiff who violates a protective order.
III. Permits the defendant’s attorney and certain other persons associated with the defense to contact the plaintiff.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05-0248
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT relative to protective orders in domestic violence cases.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subparagraph; Protection from Domestic Violence; Temporary Relief; Restraints on Plaintiff Added. Amend RSA 173-B:4, I(a) by inserting after subparagraph (9) the following new subparagraph:
(10) Restraining the plaintiff from contacting the defendant or from entering the premises and curtilage where the defendant resides unless the court has modified the protective order to permit such actions.
2 New Subparagraph; Protection from Domestic Violence; Relief; Restraints on Plaintiff Added. Amend RSA 173-B:5, I(a) by inserting after subparagraph (10) the following new subparagraph:
(11) Restraining the plaintiff from contacting the defendant or from entering the premises and curtilage where the defendant resides unless the court has modified the protective order to permit such actions.
3 Protection from Domestic Violence; Relief; Application to Plaintiff. Amend RSA 173-B:5, VIII-a to read as follows:
VIII-a. Upon issuing an order [against a defendant, in which a defendant is restrained from having any contact with the plaintiff, the court shall advise the plaintiff that it would be unwise and possibly unsafe for the plaintiff to contact the defendant. If the plaintiff wishes to contact the defendant for any reason, the court shall advise the plaintiff] under this chapter, the court shall advise the parties that if either party wishes to contact the other for any reason, that such contact shall be made only after petitioning the court for a modification of the order. In an emergency situation, the plaintiff or plaintiff’s family may request that the local police department notify the defendant and the local police may accompany the defendant to a designated location, such as a hospital, if appropriate.
4 New Paragraph; Protection of Persons from Domestic Violence; Contact by Defendant’s Attorney. Amend RSA 173-B:5 by inserting after paragraph X the following new paragraph:
XI. Notwithstanding paragraph VIII-a and RSA 173-B:1, IV, an order prohibiting the defendant from contacting the plaintiff through a third party shall not prevent the defendant’s attorney or any staff member acting under the direction and supervision of the defendant’s attorney, including a private investigator licensed under RSA 106-F, from contacting the plaintiff in the course of providing legal representation to the defendant, unless the plaintiff requests that such contact cease. In such cases, the initial contact by an attorney or the attorney’s designee under this section shall not be a violation of the protective order.
5 Protection of Persons from Domestic Violence; Violation of Protective Order by Plaintiff. Amend RSA 173-B:9, I to read as follows:
I.(a) When the defendant violates either a temporary or permanent protective order issued or enforced under this chapter, peace officers shall arrest the defendant and ensure that the defendant is detained until arraignment, provided that in extreme circumstances, such as when the health of the defendant would be jeopardized by the temporary detention, a judge in response to a request by the arresting law enforcement officer or agency, may order an alternative to detention pending arraignment. Such arrests may be made within 12 hours without a warrant upon probable cause, whether or not the violation is committed in the presence of a peace officer.
(b) When the plaintiff violates either a temporary or permanent protective order issued or enforced under this chapter, peace officers shall arrest the plaintiff on charges of contempt of court and the willful violations of the protective provisions as stated in RSA 173-C:5, VIII-a and may detain the plaintiff in order to protect the plaintiff.
[(b)] (c) Subsequent to an arrest, the peace officer shall seize any firearms and ammunition in the control, ownership, or possession of the defendant and any deadly weapons which may have been used, or were threatened to be used, during the violation of the protective order. The law enforcement agency shall maintain possession of the firearms, ammunition, or deadly weapons until the court issues an order directing that the firearms, ammunition, or deadly weapons be relinquished and specifying the person to whom the firearms and ammunition or deadly weapons will be relinquished.
6 New Paragraph; Violation of Protective Order; False Claim by Plaintiff. Amend RSA 173-B:9 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI. If the court finds that defendant’s violation of a protective order was planned and initiated by the plaintiff as a means of retaliating against the defendant, the court may sanction the plaintiff and may fine the plaintiff for abuse of process.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2006.