Protective Orders In Criminal Cases

Protection orders - domestic violence cases. Current law provides that in cases involving domestic violence and in cases involving certain other crimes, a court may enter any of several types of protection orders against the defendant. The act adds 2 new potential protection orders to the list of options available to the court. They are:

• An order prohibiting the taking, transferring, concealing, harming, disposing of, or threatening to harm an animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by the alleged victim or witness; and
• An order directing a wireless telephone service provider to transfer the financial responsibility for and rights to a wireless telephone number or numbers to the alleged victim or witness if the alleged victim or witness satisfies certain criteria.

The act also clarifies that the issuance of a protection order in a case involving domestic violence or any of certain crimes does not preclude a court from issuing a protective order in a civil proceeding.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)