Opinion ID: 2597999
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: protection from domestic abuse act

Text: ¶9 The Protection from Domestic Abuse Act (the Act) allows a victim of domestic abuse, stalking, harassment, or rape to petition the court for a protection order. 22 O.S.Supp. 2003, §§ 60.1-60.2. The two components which are relevant to this litigation are harassment, id. § 60.1(3); and domestic abuse by a threat of imminent physical harm, id. § 60.1(1), as there was no evidence of an act of physical harm. Domestic abuse is defined as any act of physical harm, or the threat of imminent physical harm which is committed by an adult, emancipated minor, or minor child thirteen (13) years of age or older against another adult, emancipated minor or minor child who are family or household members or who are or were in a dating relationship. Id. § 60.1(1). [4] Harassment is defined as a knowing and willful course or pattern of conduct by a family or household member or an individual who is or has been involved in a dating relationship with the person, directed at a specific person which seriously alarms or annoys the person, and which serves no legitimate purpose. Id. § 60.1(3). [5] Family or household members are spouses, ex-spouses, present spouses of ex-spouses, parents, grandparents, stepparents, adoptive and foster parents, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, adopted and foster children, persons otherwise related by blood or marriage, persons are presently living or have formerly lived in the same household, and biological parents of the same child. Id. § 60.1(4). ¶10 The Act's clear purpose is preventative, and the Act provides immediate civil, nonmonetary relief for victims of domestic abuse, stalking, harassment, or rape. To effectuate its purpose, the Act provides for courts to issue civil protection orders to prevent violence before it happens. ¶11 As pointed out in Katsenelenbogen v. Katsenelenbogen, 762 A.2d 198, 207 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2000), vacated, 775 A.2d 1249 (Md. 2000), that a protective order can be beneficial in that it may provide a potential victim of domestic abuse a measure of reassurance, but the unwarranted issuance of a protective order can have unjustified, irreversible consequences for a defendant. For example, an vindictive, angry ex-spouse may seek a protective order in an attempt to deny a parent rightful access to a child. A protective order may also carry with it a social stigma and have a devastating effect on a defendant's career. For example, federal law impacts a police officer's ability to possess and carry a firearm when subject to certain protective orders. [6] State law makes a person ineligible for a concealed handgun license for three years after the entry of a final protective order against the person or sixty days from the date a final protective order is vacated, cancelled or withdrawn. 21 O.S.Supp. 2006, § 1290.11(A)(8). Because of the potential for misuse and the potential for unwarranted harmful results, only protective orders which meet the legislative requirements should issue. The court should not issue a protective order on the theory that it will do no harm or cause the defendant no real inconvenience.