NH District Court Domestic Violence Protocols

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In 1994, the District Court issued a comprehensive and far reaching protocol for handling domestic violence cases throughout New Hampshire. Spawned by the growing caseload and need for consistency in handling these cases, the protocol became the first comprehensive, multi-disciplinary set of guidelines for addressing domestic violence in New Hampshire. The protocols have been reprinted and distributed to hundreds upon hundreds of professionals throughout the State. They have received special recognition by the United States Department of Justice and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and have been used as models in states around the country.

In the eight years that have transpired, RSA 173-B (our Protection of Persons From Domestic Violence Statute) has changed significantly, as have federal laws regarding such issues as the interstate enforcement of protection orders. The New Hampshire Supreme Court has also begun to develop a body of caselaw on domestic violence. Annually, the District and Family Division Courts are now hearing approximately 8,000 domestic violence cases. Thus, we thought it both timely and necessary to reconvene a working group to revise and update the original protocols.

These new protocols are the result of an 18 month project involving 40 judges, clerks, attorneys (prosecutors and defense attorneys), psychologists, members of law enforcement, and visitation center representatives, as well as representatives from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. This project could not have been completed without their commitment of time and expertise. Their names are listed on the Advisory Committee list following. We would be remiss if we did not mention a few persons who functioned in an "Executive Committee" capacity, and who attended countless meetings and spent hours drafting and proofing chapters. Attorney Alan Cronheim, Linda Griebsch, Dr. Scott Hampton, Attorney Ann Rice, Lynda Ruel and Lauren Thorn deserve far more recognition than we can give; we are truly indebted for their commitment of time and expertise. Producing a manual such as this cannot happen without administrative assistance. We greatly appreciate the assistance of Diane Hufstader, Janice Boynton and Marjorie Therrien of Judge Kelly's Office in Concord. A very special note of thanks is extended to Lesley Frame, Administrative Assistant for the Greenbook Project, who typed seemingly endless drafts until it became the document presented here. Her boundless energy, patience and good humor are so very much appreciated.

Throughout this process we have sought to maintain the delicate balance of constitutional safeguards so fundamental to our system of justice, for in the end, it is this proper balance which is the hallmark of our system of government. These protocols, we hope, will be viewed and used by judges and court personnel as a "best practices" manual. We recognize that not every scenario could be contemplated, and that the facts of each individual case must guide the judge through the decision making process. We hope the protocols will be helpful in understanding and applying the law.

Honorable Edwin W. Kelly

Honorable Susan B. Carbon

Attorney Elizabeth Paine

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Introduction		32
A.	Courtroom Security Protocols 7-1 through 7-3	32
B.	Conduct of Hearing Protocols 7-4 through 7-8	33
C.	Evidence Protocols 7-9 and 7-10	34
D.	Duration Protocol 7-11	34
E.	Relief Available	34
F.	Protective Orders Protocol 7-12	35
G.	Other Relief	36
H.	Division of Property Protocols 7-13 through 7-16	36
I.	Custody and Visitation Protocols 7-17 through 7-20	38
J.	Child Support Protocols 7-21 through 7-23	39
K.	Counseling Protocols 7-24 and 7-25	40
L.	Compensatory Damages Protocol 7-26	41
M.	Precedence of Final Court Orders Protocol 7-27	41
N.	Judicial Instructions to the Parties Protocol 7-28	42
O.	Notification to the Defendant Protocol 7-29	43
P.	Mutual Restraining Orders and Cross-orders for Relief Protocols 7-30 and 7-31	43
Q.	Issuance of Final Orders Protocols 7-32 and 7-33	44
R.	Appeals Protocols 7-34 and 7-35	44

Introduction			52
A.	Types of Contempt		52
	1.	Civil Contempt	52
	2.	Criminal Contempt	53
B.	Initiation of Process Protocols 10-1 and 10-2		53
	1.	Initial Determination by the Court Protocol 10-3	53
	2.	Referral for Prosecution Protocols 10-4 through 10-6	54
C.	Enforcement of Court Orders through the Contempt Powers of the Court		55
	1.	Notice to the Defendant Protocols 10-7 through 10-9	55
	2.	Initial Hearing/Arraignment Protocols 10-10 through 10-14	55
	3.	Civil Contempt Protocols 10-15 through 10-18	56
	4.	Non-Summary Criminal Contempt Process Protocols 10-19 through 10-24	57

Introduction				71
General Definitions				72
A.	Relinquishment			72
	1.	Emergency Telephonic Orders Protocol 14-1		73
	2.	Notice to Victims Protocol 14-2		73
	3.	Temporary Orders Protocols 14-3 through 14-8		73
	4.	Final Orders Protocols 14-9 through 14-12		75
	5.	Violations Protocols 14-13 and 14-14		75
B.	Storage Protocols 14-15 through 14-19			76
C.	Return of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Deadly Weapons			77
	1.	Defendant’s Request Protocols 14-20 through 14-25		77
	2.	Scope of Hearing Protocol 14-26		79
	3.	Grounds for Denial of Return of Firearms and Ammunition Protocols 14-27 and 14-28		79
		a.	Federal Prohibitions Protocols 14-29 and 14-30	81
		b.	State Prohibitions Protocol 14-31	82
	4.	Grounds for Denial of Deadly Weapons Protocol 14-32		82
	5.	Conduct of Hearing Protocol 14-33 through 14-40		82

Introduction		105
A.	Eligibility to Apply for a Stalking Protective Order Protocols 18-1 and 18-2	105
B.	Commencement of Proceedings Protocols 18-3 through 18-9	106
C.	Issuing the Stalking Protective Order Protocols 18-10 through 18-12	108
D.	Notification and Service Protocols 18-13 and 18-14	109
E.	Enforcement of Stalking Orders Protocol 18-15	110
F.	Bail Issues Protocol 18-16	110
G.	Contempt Protocol 18-17	111

This project was supported by Grant No. 2000-WF-NW-0033 awarded by the Violence Against Women Grants Office, Office of the Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

District Court

Domestic Violence Case Protocols