BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 112|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 112
          Author:   Cohn (D), et al
          Amended:  6/21/05 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/14/05
          AYES:  Alquist, Poochigian, Cedillo, Margett, Migden,  
            Perata, Romero
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/16/05 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Protective orders:  precedence of emergency  
          protective 
                      orders

           SOURCE  :     Judge Margaret S. Johnson, Santa Clara County  
          Superior 
                      Court


           DIGEST  :    This bill provides that emergency protective  
          orders take precedence in enforcement over any other  
          restraining or protective order, as specified and limited.

           ANALYSIS  :    Current law authorizes a court to issue a  
          civil or criminal protective order to protect victims of  
          domestic violence.  

          Current law authorizes a law enforcement officer to seek an  
          emergency protective order (EPO) from a court 24 hours a  
          day, seven days a week, if any person or child is in  
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          immediate and present danger of domestic violence or abuse,  
          or in imminent danger of abduction by a parent or relative.  
           An EPO is effective for up to seven days.  The EPO must be  
          entered into the California Law Enforcement  
          Telecommunications System (CLETS).  

          Current law further authorizes a law enforcement officer to  
          seek an EPO from a court if the officer has reasonable  
          grounds to believe that an individual is in immediate and  
          present danger of stalking.  

          Current law provides that criminal protective orders take  
          precedence over civil orders involving the same defendant.
           
          This bill revises this provision to provide for its  
          application unless a court issues an EPO, as specified, in  
          which case the EPO shall have precedence in enforcement  
          over any other restraining or protective order, provided  
          the EPO meets the following requirements:

          1. The emergency protective order is issued to protect one  
             or more individuals who are already protected persons  
             under another restraining or protective order.

          2. The emergency protective order restrains the individual  
             who is the restrained person in the other restraining or  
             protective order specified in subparagraph (A).

          3. 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).

          This bill also clarifies that an EPO issued, as specified,  
          shall have precedence in enforcement over any other  
          restraining or protective order, provided the emergency  
          protective order meets the following requirements:

          1. The emergency protective order is issued to protect one  
             or more individuals who are already protected persons  
             under another restraining or protective order.

          2. The emergency protective order restrains the individual  
             who is the restrained person in the other restraining or  







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             protective order specified in subparagraph (A).

          3. 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).

          This bill further provides that EPOs meet the requirements  
          described above "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."

           FISCAL EFFECT :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/28/05)

          Judge Margaret S. Johnson, Santa Clara County Superior  
          Court (source)
          American Federation of State, County, and Municipal  
          Employees
          Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County
          Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
          Peace Officers Research Association of California


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states:

            "Currently, Penal Code Section 136.2 requires that  
            criminal court orders take precedence over civil court  
            orders.  Generally this is not a problem, but in some  
            cases the criminal court allows there to be peaceful  
            contact between the defendant and victim.

            "An Emergency Protective Order (EPO) is civil in nature  
            and is always issued as a result of some police  
            intervention which necessitates as stay away/no contact  
            order.  The problem comes in where there is a prior  
            criminal order allowing contact, it would, under  
            current law, take precedence over the EPO and  
            jeopardize the victim's safety.








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            "This bill is a solution to this problem for it allows  
            for the EPO to have precedence in enforcement over all  
            other protective orders for the short 5 court calendar  
            days that it is valid."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Aghazarian, Arambula, Baca, Bass, Benoit, Berg,  
            Bermudez, Blakeslee, Bogh, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan,  
            Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De La Torre,  
            DeVore, Dymally, Emmerson, Evans, Frommer, Garcia,  
            Goldberg, Hancock, Harman, Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley  
            Horton, Houston, Huff, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Klehs,  
            Koretz, La Malfa, La Suer, Laird, Leno, Leslie, Levine,  
            Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Montanez, Mountjoy, Mullin,  
            Nakanishi, Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod, Niello, Parra,  
            Pavley, Plescia, Richman, Ridley-Thomas, Sharon Runner,  
            Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas, Spitzer, Strickland, Torrico,  
            Tran, Umberg, Vargas, Villines, Walters, Wolk, Wyland,  
            Yee, Nunez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gordon, Lieber, Liu, Oropeza


          RJG:mel  6/28/05   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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