Validity of foreign protection orders; full faith and credit;
enforcement; duties of law enforcement officers
Sec. 17. (a) A foreign protection order is facially valid if it:
(1) identifies the protected person and the respondent;
(2) is currently in effect;
(3) was issued by a state or tribal court with jurisdiction over
the:
(A) parties; and
(B) subject matter;
under the law of the issuing state or Indian tribe; and
(4) was issued after a respondent was given reasonable notice
and an opportunity to be heard sufficient to protect the
respondent's right to due process. In the case of an ex parte
order, notice and opportunity to be heard must be provided
within the time required by state or tribal law and within a
reasonable time after the order is issued sufficient to protect the
respondent's due process rights.
(b) A facially valid foreign protection order is prima facie
evidence of its validity. The protection order may be inscribed on a
tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium if it is
retrievable in perceivable form. Presentation of a certified copy of an
order for protection is not required for enforcement.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d), a protection order that is
facially valid and issued by a court of a state (issuing state) or Indian
tribe shall be accorded full faith and credit by Indiana courts.
(d) A mutual foreign protection order is not entitled to full faith
and credit if the order is issued by a state or tribal court against a
person who has petitioned, filed a complaint, or otherwise filed a
written pleading for protection against a family or household
member, unless:
(1) a separate petition or motion was filed by a respondent;
(2) the issuing court has reviewed each motion separately and
granted or denied each on its individual merits; and
(3) separate orders were issued and the issuing court made
specific findings that each party was entitled to an order.
(e) Registration or filing of a foreign protection order is not a
prerequisite to enforcement of the order in Indiana, and a protection
order that is consistent with this section shall be accorded full faith
and credit notwithstanding a failure to register or file the order in
Indiana. However, if a petitioner wishes to register a foreign
protection order in Indiana, all Indiana courts of record shall
accommodate the request. The division of state court administration
shall develop a form to be used by courts, clerks, and law
enforcement agencies when a petitioner makes a request to register
a foreign protection order. The courts, clerks of the courts, and
sheriffs or law enforcement agencies maintaining depositories shall
employ the same procedures required under IC 5-2-9-6 for entering,
modifying, extending, or terminating a foreign protection order as
those used for a protection order and a no contact order originating
in Indiana.
(f) A facially valid foreign protection order shall be enforced by
a law enforcement officer and a state court as if it were an order
originating in Indiana. The order must be enforced if the foreign
protection order contains relief that the state courts lack the power to
provide in an order for protection issued in Indiana.
(g) An Indiana law enforcement officer:
(1) may not require notification, registration, or filing of a
facially valid foreign order for protection as a prerequisite to
enforcement of an order;
(2) if a foreign protection order is not presented, may consider
other information to determine under a totality of the
circumstances whether there is probable cause to believe that a
valid foreign order for protection exists; and
(3) who determines that an otherwise valid foreign protection
order cannot be enforced because a respondent has not been
notified or served with the order, shall:
(A) inform the respondent of the order;
(B) serve the order on the respondent;
(C) ensure that the order and service of the order are entered
into the state depository;
(D) allow the respondent a reasonable opportunity to comply
with the order before enforcing the order; and
(E) ensure the safety of the protected person while giving the
respondent the opportunity to comply with the order.
As added by P.L.133-2002, SEC.56.
Last modified: May 24, 2006