Introduction and Acknowledgements
This is the fourth iteration of the Domestic Violence Protocols. In 1994, the District Court first 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, multidisciplinary set of guidelines for addressing domestic violence in New Hampshire. The protocols were revised again in 2002 and have been reprinted and distributed to hundreds upon hundreds of professionals throughout the State.
In the fourteen 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 case law on domestic violence and stalking. Annually, the District Courts and Family Division are now hearing approximately 8,000 requests for domestic violence protective orders and stalking cases.
Producing a manual such as this cannot happen without administrative assistance. We greatly appreciate the assistance of Judge Kelly’s Office in Concord, and Marge Therrien of that office in particular.
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 judicial officers and court personnel as a "best practices" manual. Any time the word judge is used, it may refer to a judge or marital master; we have used the term judge to refer to any judicial officer. We recognize that not every scenario could be contemplated, and that the facts of each individual case must guide the court through the decision making process. We hope the protocols will be helpful in understanding and applying the law. As always, the reader’s comments and suggestions are most welcome.
Honorable Edwin W. Kelly
Honorable Susan B. Carbon
Attorney Elizabeth Paine
indicates that the files are in Adobe Acrobat format. To download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to http://www.adobe.com. Users should be advised that these files are lengthy. | A. | Purpose | 1 |
| B. | Impartiality | 1 |
| C. | Notice of Allegations | 1 |
| D. | Defendant’s Opportunity to Be Heard | 2 |
| E. | Evidentiary Hearing | 2 |
| F. | Distinctions Between Orders Issued Under RSA 173-B and RSA 458 and RSA 461-A | 2 |
| Introduction | 3 | |
| A. | Definitions of Domestic Violence | 3 |
| B. | Who May File a Petition Protocol 2-1 |
4 |
| C. | Additional Persons Protected by Certain Restraining Orders Protocol 2-2 |
6 |
| Introduction | 7 |
| Protocols 3-1 through 3-3 | 7 |
| Introduction | 9 | |
| A. | Which County or District? Protocols 4-1 through 4-5 |
9 |
| B. | Transfer to Another District Court Protocols 4-6 through 4-8 |
10 |
| C. | Transfer to the Superior Court For Non-Family Division Counties Protocols 4-9 through 4-13 |
11 |
| Introduction | 13 | |
| A. | General Staff Responsibilities Protocols 5-1 through 5-12 |
13 |
| B. | Conduct of Hearing Protocols 5-13 through 5-17 |
15 |
| C. | Proof Required Protocols 5-18 through 5-21 |
16 |
| D. | Orders Available Protocol 5-22 |
17 |
| E. | Permissible Contact Introduction Protocols 5-23 through 5-24 |
19 |
| F. | Instructions to the Plaintiff for the Final Hearing Protocol 5-25 |
19 |
| G. | Scheduling a Final Hearing Introduction Protocols 5-26 through 5-30 |
20 |
| Introduction | 23 | |
| A. | Service of Process upon the Defendant Protocols 6-1 through 6-8 |
23 |
| B. | Defendant's Answer Protocols 6-9 through 6-10 |
24 |
| C. | Amendments to the Plaintiff’s Petition Protocol 6-11 |
25 |
| Introduction | 27 | |
| A. | Courtroom Security Protocols 7-1 through 7-3 |
27 |
| B. | Conduct of Hearing Protocols 7-4 through 7-9 |
27 |
| C. | Evidence Protocols 7-10 and 7-11 |
28 |
| D. | Duration Protocol 7-12 |
28 |
| E. | Firearms Protocol 7-13 |
28 |
| F. | Relief Available | 29 |
| G. | Protective Orders Protocols 7-14 through 7-15 |
29 |
| H. | Other Relief | 30 |
| I. | Division of Property Protocols 7-16 through 7-19 |
30 |
| J. | Custody and Visitation Protocols 7-20 through 7-23 |
31 |
| K. | Child Support Protocols 7-24 through 7-26 |
32 |
| L. | Counseling Protocols 7-27 and 7-28 |
32 |
| M. | Compensatory Damages Protocol 7-29 |
33 |
| N. | Addendum to Final Orders Protocol 7-30 |
33 |
| O. | Precedence of Final Court Orders Protocol 7-31 |
33 |
| P. | Judicial Instructions to the Parties Protocol 7-32 |
34 |
| Q. | Notification to the Defendant Protocol 7-33 |
35 |
| R. | Mutual Restraining Orders and Cross-Orders for Relief Protocols 7-34 and 7-35 |
35 |
| S. | Issuance of Final Orders Protocols 7-36 and 7-37 |
36 |
| T. | Appeals Protocols 7-38 and 7-39 |
36 |
| A. | Failure to Prosecute and Dismissal by the Court Protocols 8-1 through 8-3 |
37 |
| B. | Withdrawals of Protective Orders Protocols 8-4 through 8-8 |
37 |
| A. | Modifications |
39 |
| B. | Extension of Orders Protocols 9-7 through 9-13 |
40 |
| Introduction | 43 | ||
| A. | Jurisdiction of the Family Division | 43 | |
| B. | Types of Contempt | 44 | |
| 1. | Civil Contempt | ||
| 2. | Criminal Contempt | ||
| C. | Criminal Contempt Protocols 10-1 through 10-2 |
44 | |
| D. | Civil Contempt Protocols 10-3 through 10-9 |
44 | |
| Introduction Protocols 11-1 through 11-4 |
47 |
| A. | Bail Forms Protocol 12-1 |
49 | |
| B. | Guidelines for Issuing Bail and Criminal Protective Orders Pending arraignment | 49 | |
| 1. | Introduction Protocols 12-2 through 12-6 |
||
| C. | Entry of Orders by Bail Commissioners Protocol 12-7 |
51 | |
| D. | Bail Considerations at Arraignment Protocols 12-8 through 12-15 |
51 | |
| E. | Bail Pending Appeal Protocol 12-16 |
53 | |
| F. | Victim Notification of Bail Orders Protocol 12-17 |
53 | |
| G. | Use of the Domestic Violence Registry Protocols 12-18 through 12-20 |
53 | |
| A. | Charging Protocols 13-1 and 13-2 |
55 |
| B. | Sentencing Protocols 13-3 through 13-6 |
55 |
| C. | Scheduling Protocol 13-7 |
56 |
| D. | Acknowledgment of Rights/Recording Protocol 13-8 |
56 |
| Introduction | 57 | |||
| General Definitions | 57 | |||
| A. | Relinquishment Overview | 58 | ||
| B. | Reconciling New Hampshire State Law and Federal Law | 59 | ||
| 1. | Emergency Telephonic Orders Protocol 14-1 |
59 | ||
| 2. | Notice to Victims Protocol 14-2 |
59 | ||
| 3. | Temporary Orders Protocols 14-3 through 14-8 |
59 | ||
| 4. | Final Orders Protocols 14-9 through 14-12 |
60 | ||
| 5. | Violations Protocol 14-13 |
61 | ||
| C. | Storage Protocols 14-14 through 14-17 |
61 | ||
| D. | Return of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Deadly Weapons | 62 | ||
| 1. | Defendant’s Request Protocols 14-18 through 14-23 |
62 | ||
| 2. | Scope of Hearing Protocol 14-24 |
63 | ||
| 3. | Grounds for Denial of Return of Firearms and Ammunition Protocol 14-25 |
63 | ||
| a. | Federal Prohibitions Protocols 14-26 and 14-28 |
64 | ||
| b. | State Prohibitions Protocol 14-29 |
65 | ||
| 4. | Grounds for Denial of Deadly Weapons Protocol 14-30 |
65 | ||
| 5. | Conduct of Hearing Protocols 14-31 through 14-38 |
65 | ||
| 6. | Requests of Third parties Protocol 14-39 |
66 | ||
| Introduction | 67 | |
| A. | Protocol for Enforcement of Foreign Protective Orders Protocols 15-1 through 15-2 |
68 |
| B. | Protocol for Registration of Foreign Protective Orders Protocols 15-3 through 15-6 |
69 |
| C. | Protocols for the Issuance of New Hampshire Protective Orders Protocol 15-7 |
71 |
| Introduction | 73 | ||
| A. | Goal of Services | 73 | |
| B. | Types of Visitation | 73 | |
| 1. | Monitored Exchanges Protocols 16-1 and 2 |
73 | |
| 2. | Semi-Supervised Visits On-Site Protocol 16-3 |
73 | |
| 3. | Fully Supervised On-Site Visits Protocol 16-4 |
73 | |
| C. | Court Orders Protocols 16-5 through 16-9 |
74 | |
| D. | Setting and Collecting Fees Protocol 16-10 |
75 | |
| E. | Resources | 75 | |
| Introduction | 77 | ||
| A. | Transmittal of The Protective Order to the Registry Protocols 17-1 through 17-3 |
78 | |
| B. | Types of Orders | 78 | |
| 1. | Civil Protective Orders | ||
| 2. | Criminal Protective Orders | ||
| C. | Civil Orders Protocols 17-4 through 17-8 |
78 | |
| D. | Criminal Orders Protocols 17-9 through 17-12 |
80 | |
| E. | Foreign Protective Orders Protocols 17-13 |
80 | |
| F. | Assigning a Protective Order Number | 80 | |
| 1. | Civil Protective Orders Protocols 17-14 through 17-15 |
81 | |
| 2. | Criminal Protective Orders Protocols 17-16 through 17-17 |
81 | |
| G. | Proper Completion of the First Page of the Order and Defendant Information Sheet Protocol 17-18 |
81 | |
| H. | FAXBACK System Protocols 17-19 through 17-20 |
82 | |
| Introduction | 83 | |
| A. | Eligibility to Apply for a Stalking Protective Order |
83 |
| B. | Commencement of Proceedings |
83 |
| C. | Issuing the Stalking Protective Order |
86 |
| D. | Notification and Service |
87 |
| E. | Enforcement of Stalking Orders |
87 |
| F. | Bail Issues |
87 |
| A. | General |
89 |
| B. | Definition of Services | 89 |
| C. | Referral Process |
90 |
| A. | Administrative Order for Judicial Branch Family Division and District Court |
| B. | “Role of the Advocate,” by Linda Griebsch |
| C. | New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence-Crisis Center List |
| D. | Criteria for Visitation Recommendations - N.H. Governor’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Sub-Committee on Supervised Visitation |
This project was supported by Grant #2006-WF-AX-0074 by the Violence Against Women Grants, Office of Justice Programs, U. S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U. S. Department of Justice.