Domestic violence: protective orders

The law increases consequences for violating protective and stay-away orders and requires courts to weigh alleged injuries when making bail decisions.

What the law does ​

• Makes knowingly violating specified criminal protective or stay-away orders chargeable as a misdemeanor or felony when the restrained person was charged with or convicted of a felony underlying the order.
• Bars felony punishment under that provision when the underlying felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor or dismissed.
• Makes a second or later qualifying violation within seven years involving violence or a credible threat of violence punishable as a felony.
• Requires courts to consider an alleged protective-order violation and resulting injury when setting, reducing, or denying bail.

Who it affects ​

• People subject to specified criminal, domestic-violence, elder-abuse, and family-court protective or stay-away orders.
• Protected people who allege an injury from an order violation.
• Courts and county prosecuting agencies enforcing these orders.

Context ​

A violation that causes physical injury still requires at least 48 hours in county jail.