§ 153-C — Temporary order of protection

§ 153-c. Temporary order of protection. (a) Any person appearing at\nfamily court when the court is open requesting a temporary order of\nprotection under any article of this act shall be entitled to file a\npetition without delay on the same day such person first appears at the\nfamily court, and a hearing on that request shall be held on the same\nday or the next day that the family court is open following the filing\nof such petition.\n (b) As provided in this section, the chief administrator of the\ncourts, with the approval of the administrative board of the courts, may\npromulgate rules to establish and implement a pilot program for the\nfiling of petitions for temporary orders of protection by electronic\nmeans and for the issuance of such orders ex parte by audio-visual means\nin order to accommodate litigants for whom attendance at court to file\nfor, and obtain, emergency relief would constitute an undue hardship or\nto accommodate litigants, for whom traveling to and appearing in the\ncourthouse to obtain emergency relief, creates a risk of harm to such\nlitigant.\n (1) Definitions. As used in this section:\n (i) "Electronic means" means any method of transmission of information\nbetween computers or other machines designed for the purpose of sending\nand receiving such transmissions, and which allows the recipient to\nreproduce the information transmitted in a tangible medium of\nexpression.\n (ii) "Independent audio-visual system" means an electronic system for\nthe transmission and receiving of audio and visual signals, encompassing\nencoded signals, frequency domain multiplexing or other suitable means\nto preclude the unauthorized reception and decoding of the signals by\ncommercially available television receivers, channel converters, or\nother available receiving devices.\n (iii) "Electronic appearance" means an appearance in which one or more\nof the parties are not present in the court, but in which, by means of\nan independent audio-visual system, all of the participants are\nsimultaneously able to see and hear reproductions of the voices and\nimages of the judge, counsel, parties, witnesses, if any and other\nparticipants.\n (2) Development of a pilot program. A plan for a pilot program\npursuant to this section shall be developed by the chief administrator\nof the courts or his or her delegate in consultation with one or more\nlocal programs providing assistance to victims of domestic violence, the\noffice for the prevention of domestic violence, and attorneys who\nrepresent family offense petitions. The plan shall include, but is not\nlimited to:\n (i) identification of one or more family justice centers or\norganizations or agencies or other sites outside of the local family\ncourt that are equipped with, or have access to, an independent\naudio-visual system and electronic means for filing documents that are\ncompatible with the equipment in the local family court, with\nconsideration given to the location of such site or sites and available\nresources; and\n (ii) identification of one or more licensed and certified\norganizations, agencies or entities with advocates for victims of\ndomestic violence who are trained, and available to assist petitioners\nin preparing and filing petitions for temporary orders of protection and\nin their electronic appearances before the family court to obtain such\norders; and\n (iii) identification of the existing resources available in local\nfamily courts for the implementation and oversight of the pilot program;\nand\n (iv) delineation of procedures for filing of the petitions and\ndocuments, if any, by electronic means, swearing in the petitioners and\nany witnesses, preparation of a verbatim transcription of testimony\npresented and a record of evidence adduced and prompt transmission of\nany orders issued to the petitioners; and\n (v) a timetable for implementation of the pilot program and plan for\ninforming the public of its availability; and\n (vi) a description of data to be collected in order to evaluate and,\nif necessary, make recommendations for improvements to the pilot\nprogram.\n (3) Filing by electronic means. In conjunction with an electronic\nappearance under this section, petitioners for ex parte temporary orders\nof protection may, with the assistance of trained advocates, commence\nthe proceedings by filing petitions by electronic means.\n (i) A petitioner who seeks a temporary order of protection ex parte by\nuse of an electronic appearance must file a petition in advance of such\nappearance and may do so by electronic means. The petitioner shall set\nforth the circumstances in which traveling to or appearing in the\ncourthouse would constitute an undue hardship, or create a risk of harm\nto the petitioner. In granting or denying the relief sought by the\npetitioner, the court shall state the names of all participants, and\nwhether it is granting or denying an appearance by electronic means and\nthe basis for such determination; provided, however, that nothing in\nthis section shall be construed to compel a party to file a petition or\nother document by electronic means or to testify by means of an\nelectronic appearance.\n (ii) Nothing in this section shall affect or change any existing laws\ngoverning the service of process, including requirements for personal\nservice, or the sealing and confidentiality of court records in family\ncourt proceedings, or access to court records by the parties to such\nproceedings.\n (4) (i) All electronic appearances by petitioners seeking temporary\norders of protection ex parte under this section shall be strictly\nvoluntary and the consent of such petitioners shall be given on the\nrecord at the commencement of each appearance.\n (ii) Appearances taken through the use of an electronic appearance\nunder this section shall be recorded and preserved for transcription.\nDocumentary evidence, if any, referred to by a party or witness or the\ncourt may be transmitted and submitted and introduced by electronic\nmeans.\n