BILL REQ. #:  H-0891.1 

Read first time 01/30/2003.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to ex parte temporary orders for protection; and amending RCW 26.50.070.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 26.50.070 and 2000 c 119 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Where an application under this section alleges that irreparable injury could result from domestic violence if an order is not issued immediately without prior notice to the respondent, the court may grant an ex parte temporary order for protection, pending a full hearing, and grant relief as the court deems proper, including an order:
     (a) Restraining any party from committing acts of domestic violence;
     (b) Restraining any party from going onto the grounds of or entering the dwelling that the parties share, from the residence, workplace, or school of the other, or from the day care or school of a child until further order of the court;
     (c) Prohibiting any party from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance from a specified location;
     (d) Restraining any party from interfering with the other's custody of the minor children or from removing the children from the jurisdiction of the court;
     (e) Restraining any party from having any contact with the victim of domestic violence or the victim's children or members of the victim's household; and
     (f) Considering the provisions of RCW 9.41.800.
     (2) Irreparable injury under this section includes but is not limited to situations in which the respondent has recently threatened petitioner with bodily injury or has engaged in acts of domestic violence against the petitioner.
     (3) The court shall hold an ex parte hearing in person or by telephone on the day the petition is filed or on the following judicial day.
     (4) An ex parte temporary order for protection shall be effective for a fixed period not to exceed fourteen days or twenty-four days if the court has permitted service by publication under RCW 26.50.085 or by mail under RCW 26.50.123. The ex parte order may be reissued. A full hearing, as provided in this chapter, shall be set for not later than fourteen days from the issuance of the temporary order or not later than twenty-four days if service by publication or by mail is permitted. Except as provided in RCW 26.50.050, 26.50.085, and 26.50.123, the respondent shall be personally served with a copy of the ex parte order along with a copy of the petition and notice of the date set for the hearing. The ex parte order and notice of hearing must include at a minimum the date and time of the hearing set by the court to determine if the temporary order should be made effective for not more than one year, and notice that if the respondent fails to appear or otherwise not respond, an order for protection will be issued against the respondent under this chapter, for not more than one year from the date of the hearing. The notice must also include a brief statement of the provisions of the ex parte order and notify the respondent that a copy of the ex parte order and notice of hearing has been filed with the clerk of the court.
     (5) Any order issued under this section shall contain the date and time of issuance and the expiration date and shall be entered into a statewide judicial information system by the clerk of the court within one judicial day after issuance.
     (6) If the court declines to issue an ex parte temporary order for protection the court shall state the particular reasons for the court's denial. The court's denial of a motion for an ex parte order of protection shall be filed with the court.