An Act To Increase the Penalty for Multiple Violations of Protection from Abuse Orders
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1348, as amended by PL 2005, c. 527, §21, is further amended to read:
§ 1348. Eligibility for deferred disposition
A person who has pled guilty to a Class C, Class D or Class E crime , except for a crime involving domestic violence, and who consents to a deferred disposition in writing is eligible for a deferred disposition. For the purpose of this section, "crime involving domestic violence" means a crime of domestic violence assault as described in section 207-A, domestic violence criminal threatening as described in section 209-A, domestic violence terrorizing as described in section 210-B, domestic violence stalking as described in section 210-C or domestic violence reckless conduct as described in section 211-A or a violation of a protective order under Title 19-A, section 4011, the alleged victim of which is a family or household member as defined in Title 19-A, section 4002, subsection 4.
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §4011, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 420, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §4011, sub-§§5 and 6 are enacted to read:
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws regarding penalties for violating consent agreements and protective orders in cases of domestic violence.
This bill requires a court to sentence a person upon a 2nd conviction of violating a protective order or court-approved consent agreement, which is a Class D crime, to a definite term of imprisonment of not less than 14 days and a definite term of probation of not less than one year unless the court makes findings on the record of the court's reasons for not ordering such definite terms. The bill makes a 3rd or subsequent conviction of violating a protective order or court-approved consent agreement a Class C crime and requires a court to sentence the person to a definite term of imprisonment of not less than 60 days and a definite term of probation of not less than 2 years unless the court makes findings on the record of the court's reasons for not ordering such definite terms.
The bill also requires a court to sentence a person upon a 2nd conviction of violating a protective order through conduct that is reckless and that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to the plaintiff named in the protective order or who assaults the plaintiff named in the protective order, which is a Class C crime, to a definite term of imprisonment of not less than 14 days and a definite term of probation of not less than one year unless the court makes findings on the record of the court's reasons for not ordering such definite terms. The bill requires a court to sentence a person upon a 3rd or subsequent conviction to a definite term of imprisonment of not less than 60 days and a definite term of probation of not less than 2 years unless the court makes findings on the record of the court's reasons for not ordering such definite terms.
The bill also makes a person who commits a crime involving domestic violence ineligible for deferred disposition.