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An Act Regarding Protection Orders and the Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  15 MRSA §1206  is enacted to read:
§ 1206. Certain out-of-court statements in domestic violence assault cases
 
1.  Admissible hearsay.     A statement may not be excluded as hearsay even though the declarant is available if the statement:
 
A.  Purports to narrate, describe, report or explain an incident of domestic violence assault, as defined in Title 17-A, section 207-A, subsection 1;
 
B.  Is made by a victim of the domestic violence assault within 24 hours after the incident occurred;
 
C.  Was recorded, either electronically or in writing, or was made to a law enforcement officer, provider of emergency medical services or firefighter; and
 
D.  Has sufficient indicia of reliability.
 
2.  Reliability considerations.     In determining whether a statement has sufficient indicia of reliability under subsection 1, the court shall consider all circumstances surrounding the statement. The court may consider, but is not limited to, the following factors in determining whether a statement has sufficient indicia of reliability:
 
A.  The personal knowledge of the declarant;
 
B.  Whether the statement is corroborated by evidence other than statements that are subject to admission only pursuant to this section;
 
C.  The timing of the statement;
 
D.  Whether the statement was elicited by leading questions; and
 
E.   Subsequent statements made by the declarant. Recantation by a declarant is not sufficient reason for denying admission of a statement under this section in the absence of other factors indicating unreliability.
Sec. 2.  19-A MRSA §4006, sub-§9  is enacted to read:
 
9.  Evidence of past convictions.     Notwithstanding provisions of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 26 to the contrary, prior convictions of domestic violence assault under Title 17-A, section 207-A, subsection 1 may be offered into evidence for purposes of a protection from abuse order issued pursuant to this section.
Sec. 3.  19-A MRSA §4012, sub-§11  is enacted to read:
 
11.  Service of protection from abuse order.     Every municipal, county and state law enforcement agency shall adopt a written policy on the service of protection from abuse orders that directs that every order issued under this chapter is served on the subject of the order as quickly as possible. Service of a protection from abuse order that is not in compliance with a policy adopted under this subsection does not affect the validity of the service or the order.
Sec. 4. 25 MRSA §2803-B, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2003, c. 361, §1, is further amended to read:
 
D. Domestic violence, which must include, at a minimum, the following:
 
(1) A process to ensure that a victim receives notification of the defendant's release from jail;
 
(2) A process for the collection of information regarding the defendant that includes the defendant's previous history, the parties' relationship, the name of the victim and a process to relay this information to a bail commissioner before a bail determination is made; and
 
(3) A process for the safe retrieval of personal property belonging to the victim or the defendant that includes identification of a possible neutral location for retrieval, the presence of at least one law enforcement officer during the retrieval and giving the victim the option of at least 24 hours notice to each party prior to the retrieval; and
 
(4) Standard procedures to ensure that protection from abuse orders issued under Title 19-A, section 4006 or 4007 are served on the defendant as quickly as possible;
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA §2803-B, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 2009, c. 652, Pt. A, §37, is amended to read:
 
2. Minimum policy standards.   The board shall establish minimum standards for each law enforcement policy no later than June 1, 1995, except that policies for expanded requirements for domestic violence under subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagraphs (1) to (3)(4) must be established no later than January 1, 20032012; policies for death investigations under subsection 1, paragraph I must be established no later than January 1, 2004; policies for public notification regarding persons in the community required to register under Title 34-A, chapter 15 under subsection 1, paragraph J must be established no later than January 1, 2006; policies for the recording and preservation of interviews of suspects in serious crimes under subsection 1, paragraph K must be established no later than January 1, 2005; policies for the expanded use of physical force, including the use of electronic weapons and less-than-lethal munitions under subsection 1, paragraph A, must be established no later than January 1, 2010; and policies for mental illness and the process for involuntary commitment under subsection 1, paragraph L must be established no later than January 1, 2010.
Sec. 6. 25 MRSA §2803-B, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 2009, c. 652, Pt. A, §38, is amended to read:
 
3. Agency compliance.   The chief administrative officer of each law enforcement agency shall certify to the board no later than January 1, 1996 that the agency has adopted written policies consistent with the minimum standards established by the board pursuant to subsection 2, except that certification to the board for expanded policies for domestic violence under subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagraphs (1) to (3)(4) must be made to the board no later than June 1, 20032012; certification to the board for adoption of a death investigation policy under subsection 1, paragraph I must be made to the board no later than June 1, 2004; certification to the board for adoption of a public notification policy under subsection 1, paragraph J must be made to the board no later than June 1, 2006; certification to the board for adoption of a policy for the recording and preservation of interviews of suspects in serious crimes under subsection 1, paragraph K must be made to the board no later than June 1, 2005; certification to the board for adoption of an expanded use of physical force policy under subsection 1, paragraph A must be made to the board no later than June 1, 2010; and certification to the board for adoption of a policy regarding mental illness and the process for involuntary commitment under subsection 1, paragraph L must be made to the board no later than June 1, 2010. The certification must be accompanied by copies of the agency policies. The chief administrative officer of each agency shall certify to the board no later than June 1, 1996 that the agency has provided orientation and training for its members with respect to the policies, except that certification for orientation and training with respect to expanded policies for domestic violence under subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagraphs (1) and (3) must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2004; certification for orientation and training with respect to policies regarding death investigations under subsection 1, paragraph I must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2005; certification for orientation and training with respect to policies regarding public notification under subsection 1, paragraph J must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2007; certification for orientation and training with respect to policies regarding the recording and preservation of interviews of suspects in serious crimes under subsection 1, paragraph K must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2006; certification for orientation and training with respect to policies regarding expanded use of physical force under subsection 1, paragraph A must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2011; and certification for orientation and training with respect to policies regarding mental illness and the process for involuntary commitment under subsection 1, paragraph L must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2011.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws pertaining to domestic violence as follows.
1. It creates an exception to the hearsay rule to allow an out-of-court statement to be admitted as evidence in a court proceeding even if the person who made the statement is available if the statement meets certain criteria. The statement must purport to narrate, describe, report or explain an incident of domestic violence assault as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, section 207-A and must have been made by a victim of the domestic violence assault within 24 hours after the incident occurred. The statement must have been recorded, either electronically or in writing, or made to a law enforcement officer, provider of emergency medical services or firefighter. The statement must have sufficient indicia of reliability. The court may use specific criteria to determine reliability of the statement. The fact that the declarant withdrew the statement cannot be used to deny admission if the statement is otherwise reliable. This hearsay exception is modeled on a recently enacted Oregon statute.
2. It allows the offering into evidence at a hearing for a protection from abuse order the defendant’s prior convictions for domestic violence assault.
3. It requires the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy to adopt a model policy for the serving of protection from abuse orders as quickly as possible. It also requires law enforcement agencies to adopt such policies.