BILL NUMBER: SB 910 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pavley
JANUARY 23, 2014
An act to amend Section 136.2 of the Penal Code, relating to
domestic violence.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 910, as introduced, Pavley. Domestic violence: restraining
orders.
Existing law authorizes a court to issue specified protective
orders upon a good cause belief that harm to, or intimidation or
dissuasion of, a victim has occurred or is reasonably likely to
occur. Existing law requires the court to consider issuing those
protective orders in cases in which the defendant is charged with a
crime of domestic violence. Existing law provides that in determining
whether good cause exists to issue those orders in domestic violance
cases, the court may consider the underlying nature of the offense
charged and information provided to the court pursuant to a criminal
history search, as specified. Existing law also requires the court,
in cases in which the defendant was convicted of a crime of domestic
violence, to consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from
any contact with the victim for a period of up to 10 years. For the
purposes of these provisions, domestic violence includes abuse
committed against an adult or a minor who is a spouse, former spouse,
cohabitant, former cohabitant, or person with whom the suspect has
had a child or is having or has had a dating or engagement
relationship. The violation of a restraining order issued pursuant to
these provisions is a crime.
This bill would, for the purposes of these provisions, expand the
definition of domestic violence to include abuse perpetrated against
a child of a party to the domestic violence proceedings or a child
who is the subject of an action under the Uniform Parentage Act, as
specified, or against any other person related to the defendant by
consanguinity or affinity within the 2nd degree. By expanding the
scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 136.2 of the Penal Code, as amended by Chapter
291 of the Statutes of 2013, is amended to read:
136.2. (a) Upon a good cause belief that harm to, or intimidation
or dissuasion of, a victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably
likely to occur, a court with jurisdiction over a criminal matter may
issue orders, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) An order issued pursuant to Section 6320 of the Family Code.
(2) An order that a defendant shall not violate any provision of
Section 136.1.
(3) An order that a person before the court other than a
defendant, including, but not limited to, a subpoenaed witness or
other person entering the courtroom of the court, shall not violate
any provisions of Section 136.1.
(4) An order that a person described in this section shall have no
communication whatsoever with a specified witness or a victim,
except through an attorney under reasonable restrictions that the
court may impose.
(5) An order calling for a hearing to determine if an order as
described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, should be issued.
(6) (A) An order that a particular law enforcement agency within
the jurisdiction of the court provide protection for a victim or a
witness, or both, or for immediate family members of a victim or a
witness who reside in the same household as the victim or witness or
within reasonable proximity of the victim's or witness' household, as
determined by the court. The order shall not be made without the
consent of the law enforcement agency except for limited and
specified periods of time and upon an express finding by the court of
a clear and present danger of harm to the victim or witness or
immediate family members of the victim or witness.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "immediate family members"
include the spouse, children, or parents of the victim or witness.
(7) (A) An order protecting victims of violent crime from all
contact by the defendant, or contact, with the intent to annoy,
harass, threaten, or commit acts of violence, by the defendant. The
court or its designee shall transmit orders made under this paragraph
to law enforcement personnel within one business day of the
issuance, modification, extension, or termination of the order,
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 6380 of the Family Code. It is
the responsibility of the court to transmit the modification,
extension, or termination orders made under this paragraph to the
same agency that entered the original protective order into the
Domestic Violence Restraining Order System.
(B) (i) If a court does not issue an order pursuant to
subparagraph (A) in a case in which the defendant is charged with a
crime of domestic violence as defined in Section 13700,
13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, the
court on its own motion shall consider issuing a protective order
upon a good cause belief that harm to, or intimidation or dissuasion
of, a victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably likely to
occur, that provides as follows:
(I) The defendant shall not own, possess, purchase, receive, or
attempt to purchase or receive, a firearm while the protective order
is in effect.
(II) The defendant shall relinquish any firearms that he or she
owns or possesses pursuant to Section 527.9 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(ii) Every person who owns, possesses, purchases, or receives, or
attempts to purchase or receive, a firearm while this protective
order is in effect is punishable pursuant to Section 29825.
(C) An order issued, modified, extended, or terminated by a court
pursuant to this paragraph shall be issued on forms adopted by the
Judicial Council of California and that have been approved by the
Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 6380 of
the Family Code. However, the fact that an order issued by a court
pursuant to this section was not issued on forms adopted by the
Judicial Council and approved by the Department of Justice shall not,
in and of itself, make the order unenforceable.
(D) A protective order issued under this paragraph may require the
defendant to be placed on electronic monitoring if the local
government, with the concurrence of the county sheriff or the chief
probation officer with jurisdiction, adopts a policy to authorize
electronic monitoring of defendants and specifies the agency with
jurisdiction for this purpose. If the court determines that the
defendant has the ability to pay for the monitoring program, the
court shall order the defendant to pay for the monitoring. If the
court determines that the defendant does not have the ability to pay
for the electronic monitoring, the court may order electronic
monitoring to be paid for by the local government that adopted the
policy to authorize electronic monitoring. The duration of electronic
monitoring shall not exceed one year from the date the order is
issued. At no time shall the electronic monitoring be in place if the
protective order is not in place.
(b) A person violating an order made pursuant to paragraphs (1) to
(7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) may be punished for any
substantive offense described in Section 136.1, or for a contempt of
the court making the order. A finding of contempt shall not be a bar
to prosecution for a violation of Section 136.1. However, a person so
held in contempt shall be entitled to credit for punishment imposed
therein against a sentence imposed upon conviction of an offense
described in Section 136.1. A conviction or acquittal for a
substantive offense under Section 136.1 shall be a bar to a
subsequent punishment for contempt arising out of the same act.
(c) (1) (A) Notwithstanding subdivision (e), an emergency
protective order issued pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Part 3 of Division 10 of the Family Code or Section
646.91 shall have precedence in enforcement over any other
restraining or protective order, provided the emergency protective
order meets all of the following requirements:
(i) The emergency protective order is issued to protect one or
more individuals who are already protected persons under another
restraining or protective order.
(ii) The emergency protective order restrains the individual who
is the restrained person in the other restraining or protective order
specified in subparagraph (A).
(iii) The provisions of the emergency protective order are more
restrictive in relation to the restrained person than are the
provisions of the other restraining or protective order specified in
subparagraph (A).
(B) An emergency protective order that meets the requirements of
paragraph (1) shall have precedence in enforcement over the
provisions of any other restraining or protective order only with
respect to those provisions of the emergency protective order that
are more restrictive in relation to the restrained person.
(2) Except as described in paragraph (1), a no-contact order, as
described in Section 6320 of the Family Code, shall have precedence
in enforcement over any other restraining or protective order.
(d) (1) A person subject to a protective order issued under this
section shall not own, possess, purchase, receive, or attempt to
purchase or receive a firearm while the protective order is in
effect.
(2) The court shall order a person subject to a protective order
issued under this section to relinquish any firearms he or she owns
or possesses pursuant to Section 527.9 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(3) A person who owns, possesses, purchases or receives, or
attempts to purchase or receive a firearm while the protective order
is in effect is punishable pursuant to Section 29825.
(e) (1) In all cases where the defendant is charged with a crime
of domestic violence, as defined in Section 13700,
13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, the court
shall consider issuing the above-described orders on its own motion.
All interested parties shall receive a copy of those orders. In order
to facilitate this, the court's records of all criminal cases
involving domestic violence shall be marked to clearly alert the
court to this issue.
(2) In those cases in which a complaint, information, or
indictment charging a crime of domestic violence, as defined in
Section 13700, 13700 or in Section 6211 of
the Family Code, has been issued, except as described in
subdivision (c), a restraining order or protective order against the
defendant issued by the criminal court in that case has precedence in
enforcement over a civil court order against the defendant.
(3) Custody and visitation with respect to the defendant and his
or her minor children may be ordered by a family or juvenile court
consistent with the protocol established pursuant to subdivision (f),
but if ordered after a criminal protective order has been issued
pursuant to this section, the custody and visitation order shall make
reference to, and, if there is not an emergency protective order
that has precedence in enforcement pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c), or a no-contact order, as described in Section 6320
of the Family Code, acknowledge the precedence of enforcement of, an
appropriate criminal protective order. On or before July 1, 2014, the
Judicial Council shall modify the criminal and civil court forms
consistent with this subdivision.
(f) On or before January 1, 2003, the Judicial Council shall
promulgate a protocol, for adoption by each local court in
substantially similar terms, to provide for the timely coordination
of all orders against the same defendant and in favor of the same
named victim or victims. The protocol shall include, but shall not be
limited to, mechanisms for ensuring appropriate communication and
information sharing between criminal, family, and juvenile courts
concerning orders and cases that involve the same parties, and shall
permit a family or juvenile court order to coexist with a criminal
court protective order subject to the following conditions:
(1) An order that permits contact between the restrained person
and his or her children shall provide for the safe exchange of the
children and shall not contain language either printed or handwritten
that violates a "no-contact order" issued by a criminal court.
(2) Safety of all parties shall be the courts' paramount concern.
The family or juvenile court shall specify the time, day, place, and
manner of transfer of the child, as provided in Section 3100 of the
Family Code.
(g) On or before January 1, 2003, the Judicial Council shall
modify the criminal and civil court protective order forms consistent
with this section.
(h) In any case in which a complaint, information, or indictment
charging a crime of domestic violence, as defined in Section
13700, 13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family Code,
has been filed, the court may consider, in determining whether
good cause exists to issue an order under paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a), the underlying nature of the offense charged, and
the information provided to the court pursuant to Section 273.75.
(i) (1) In all cases in which a criminal defendant has been
convicted of a crime of domestic violence as defined in Section
13700, 13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family
Code, a violation of Section 261, 261.5, or 262, or any crime
that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c)
of Section 290, the court, at the time of sentencing, shall consider
issuing an order restraining the defendant from any contact with the
victim. The order may be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by
the court. This protective order may be issued by the court
regardless of whether the defendant is sentenced to the state prison
or a county jail, or whether imposition of sentence is suspended and
the defendant is placed on probation. It is the intent of the
Legislature in enacting this subdivision that the duration of any
restraining order issued by the court be based upon the seriousness
of the facts before the court, the probability of future violations,
and the safety of the victim and his or her immediate family.
(2) An order under this subdivision may include provisions for
electronic monitoring if the local government, upon receiving the
concurrence of the county sheriff or the chief probation officer with
jurisdiction, adopts a policy authorizing electronic monitoring of
defendants and specifies the agency with jurisdiction for this
purpose. If the court determines that the defendant has the ability
to pay for the monitoring program, the court shall order the
defendant to pay for the monitoring. If the court determines that the
defendant does not have the ability to pay for the electronic
monitoring, the court may order the electronic monitoring to be paid
for by the local government that adopted the policy authorizing
electronic monitoring. The duration of the electronic monitoring
shall not exceed one year from the date the order is issued.
(j) For purposes of this section, "local government" means the
county that has jurisdiction over the protective order.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.