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FOREWORD
The Administrative
Office of the Trial Court issues these Guidelines to assist
judges and court personnel in addressing the many complex
and sensitive issues that arise in the course of abuse prevention
proceedings under GL c. 209A. The goal of these Guidelines
is twofold: 1) to promote the safety of those who seek abuse
prevention orders and 2) to ensure the due process rights
of those against whom these orders are sought.
This is the
third edition of the Guidelines issued by this office. As
with the previous versions, this version was prepared with
the assistance of the Boston Municipal Court, District Court,
Probate and Family Court, and the Superior Court Departments.
A number of
changes have been incorporated in this revised edition of
the Guidelines. Some of the substantive changes reflect
new appellate decisions regarding service of orders and
prosecution for violation of an order, the duration of orders,
and the expungement of orders from the Registry of Civil
Restraining Orders. Other substantive changes reflect enactment
of several statutes regarding the confidentiality of certain
information contained in c.209A case files, a rebuttable
presumption that custody should not be awarded to an abusive
parent in certain circumstances, and access to a child's
school records by a non-custodial parent. Another significant
change is the adoption of standardized terminology to describe
the duration of c.209A orders. These definitions are contained
in Guideline 1:00 and are used throughout the document.
The appendices
have been revised as well. A number of the appendices have
been deleted, in particular, copies of the cases cited in
the Guidelines. However, a list of the cases cited appears
at Appendix R with a notation of all places in the text
where each case is mentioned. We have expanded the list
of statutes included in the Guidelines to reflect the statutory
authority for protective orders under G.L. Chapters 208,
209, 209A, and 209C and relevant amendments thereto. In
addition, copies of Acts from 1998 and 2000 which are referenced
in the Guidelines appear at Appendix A. Finally, included
at Appendix Q is a list of domestic violence related training
materials which are available from the Judicial Institute.
I would like
to thank everyone who contributed to the development of
these Guidelines from their inception to the present edition,
as well as those who work hard to implement them in the
Trial Court every day. Your contributions are invaluable
to the administration of justice in this complex and important
area of law.
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