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Legal Statutes: California

UPDATED October 22, 2012

California Statutes


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Division 10. Prevention of Domestic Violence

back to topPart 2. General Provisions, Secs. 6220-6228

6220. The purposes of this division are to prevent the recurrence of acts of violence and sexual abuse and to provide for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to enable these persons to seek a resolution of the causes of the violence.

6221. (a) Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, this division applies to any order described in this division, whether the order is issued in a proceeding brought pursuant to this division, in an action brought pursuant to the Uniform Parentage Act (Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division 12), or in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties.

(b) Nothing in this division affects the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.

(c) Any order issued by a court to which this division applies shall be issued on forms adopted by the Judicial Council of California and that have been approved by the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 6380. However, the fact that an order issued by a court pursuant to this section was not issued on forms adopted by the Judicial Council and approved by the Department of Justice shall not, in and of itself, make the order unenforceable.

6222. There is no filing fee for an application, a responsive pleading, or an order to show cause that seeks to obtain, modify, or enforce a protective order or other order authorized by this division when the request for the other order is necessary to obtain or give effect to a protective order. There is no fee for a subpoena filed in connection with that application, responsive pleading, or order to show cause.

6223. A custody or visitation order issued in a proceeding brought pursuant to this division is subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 3020) of Division 8 (custody of children).

6224. An order described in this division shall state on its face the date of expiration of the order and the following statements in substantially the following form:
"This order is effective when made. The law enforcement agency shall enforce it immediately on receipt. It is enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement agency that has received the order or is shown a copy of the order. If proof of service on the restrained person has not been received, the law enforcement agency shall advise the restrained person of the terms of the order and then shall enforce it."

6225. A petition for an order described in this division is valid and the order is enforceable without explicitly stating the address of the petitioner or the petitioner's place of residence, school, employment, the place where the petitioner's child is provided child care services, or the child's school.

6226. The Judicial Council shall prescribe the form of the orders and any other documents required by this division and shall promulgate forms and instructions for applying for orders described in this division.

6227. The remedies provided in this division are in addition to any other civil or criminal remedies that may be available to the petitioner.

6228. (a) State and local law enforcement agencies shall provide, without charging a fee, one copy of all domestic violence incident report face sheets, one copy of all domestic violence incident reports, or both, to a victim of domestic violence, or to his or her representative as defined in subdivision (g), upon request. For purposes of this section, “domestic violence” has the definition given in Section 6211.

(b) A copy of a domestic violence incident report face sheet shall be made available during regular business hours to a victim of domestic violence or his or her representative no later than 48 hours after being requested by the victim or his or her representative, unless the state or local law enforcement agency informs the victim or his or her representative of the reasons why, for good cause, the domestic violence incident report face sheet is not available, in which case the domestic violence incident report face sheet shall be made available to the victim or his or her representative no later than five working days after the request is made.

(c) A copy of the domestic violence incident report shall be made available during regular business hours to a victim of domestic violence or his or her representative no later than five working days after being requested by a victim or his or her representative, unless the state or local law enforcement agency informs the victim or his or her representative of the reasons why, for good cause, the domestic violence incident report is not available, in which case the domestic violence incident report shall be made available to the victim or his or her representative no later than 10 working days after the request is made.

(d) Any person requesting copies under this section shall present state or local law enforcement with his or her identification, such as a current, valid driver's license, a state-issued identification card, or a passport and, if the person is a representative of the victim and the victim is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of the death of the victim at the time a request is made.

(e) This section shall apply to requests for face sheets or reports made within five years from the date of completion of the domestic violence incident report.

(f) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Access to Domestic Violence Reports Act of 1999.

(g)(1) For purposes of this section, if the victim is deceased, a “representative of the victim” means any of the following:

(A) The surviving spouse.

(B) A surviving child of the decedent who has attained 18 years of age.

(C) A domestic partner, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 297.

(D) A surviving parent of the decedent.

(E) A surviving adult relative.

(F) The personal representative of the victim, as defined in Section 58 of the Probate Code, if one is appointed.

(G) The public administrator if one has been appointed.

(2) For purposes of this section, if the victim is not deceased, a “representative of the victim” means any of the following:

(A) A parent, guardian, or adult child of the victim, or an adult sibling of a victim 12 years of age or older, who shall present to law enforcement identification pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), and if the victim is 12 years of age or older, a signed authorization by the victim allowing that family member or guardian to act on the victim's behalf. A guardian shall also present to law enforcement a copy of his or her letters of guardianship demonstrating that he or she is the appointed guardian of the victim.

(B) An attorney for the victim, who shall present to law enforcement identification pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) and written proof that he or she is the attorney for the victim.

(C) A conservator of the victim who shall present to law enforcement identification pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) and a copy of his or her letters of conservatorship demonstrating that he or she is the appointed conservator of the victim.

(3) A representative of the victim does not include any person who has been convicted of murder in the first degree, as defined in Section 189 of the Penal Code, of the victim, or any person identified in the incident report face sheet as a suspect.

(4) Domestic violence incident report face sheets may not be provided to a representative of the victim unless both of the following conditions are met:

(A) The representative presents his or her identification, such as a current, valid driver's license, a state-issued identification card, or a passport.

(B) The representative presents one of the following:

(i) If the victim is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of the death of the victim at the time of the request.

(ii) If the victim is alive, 12 years of age or older, and not the subject of a conservatorship, a written authorization signed by the victim making him or her the victim's personal representative.
Sec 6220 -  Added Stats 1993 ch 219 § 154 (AB 1500).

Sec 6221 -  Added Stats 1993 ch 219 § 154 (AB 1500). Amended Stats 1999 ch 661 § 4 (AB 825).

Sec 6222 - Added Stats 2002 ch 1009 § 4 (AB 2030), operative January 1, 2007. Amended Stats 2006 ch 476 § 3 (AB 2695), effective January 1, 2007.

Sec 6223 - Added Stats 1993 ch 219 § 154 (AB 1500).

Sec 6224- Added Stats 1993 ch 219 § 154 (AB 1500).

Sec 6225 - Added Stats 1993 ch 219 § 154 (AB 1500).

Sec 6226 - Added Stats 1993 ch 219 § 154 (AB 1500).

Sec 6227 -  Added Stats 1993 ch 219 § 154 (AB 1500).

Sec 6228 -  (Added by Stats.1999, c. 1022 (A.B.403), § 1. Amended by Stats.2002, c. 377 (S.B.1265), § 1; Stats.2010, c. 363 (A.B.1738), § 1; Stats.2011, c. 296 (A.B.1023), § 93.)