SB211 Summary

• Creates the "Domestic Violence Protection Order Enforcement Act" by adding Article 7A to Chapter 6 of Title 13A, defining the crime of violation of a domestic violence order.

• Classifies violation of a domestic violence order as a Class A misdemeanor; second conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days imprisonment that cannot be suspended, and third or subsequent conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 120 days imprisonment that cannot be suspended.

• Authorizes law enforcement officers to arrest without a warrant any person with probable cause to believe they violated a domestic violence order, whether temporary or permanent, and allows arrest based on knowledge of the order's existence without personally witnessing the violation.

• Defines "domestic violence order" to include protection orders issued under the Protection from Abuse Act, restraining or injunctive orders from circuit, district, municipal, or juvenile courts, pre-trial release orders with conditions in criminal cases, and orders issued by other states or territories; requires non-Protection from Abuse Act orders to specify a history of violence or abuse to be enforceable.

• Requires law enforcement officers to inform defendants of unserved domestic violence orders and allow reasonable opportunity to comply before enforcement, and to document such notice in written reports; becomes effective the first day of the third month after passage.