Amendments to PFA Act
On November 10, 2005, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed into law amendments to the state's Protection From Abuse Act. These amendments, which took effect on May 9, include some of the following provisions:
Increase the permitted duration of a PFA from 18 months to 36 months
Direct that PFA court judges consider risks of harm to both children and abused parents when awarding temporary custody rights
Give judges authority to order supervised probation of a PFA defendant who violates the order
Require the court to grant an extension of the PFA order upon conviction of the defendant for PFA indirect criminal contempt if the plaintiff requests an extension
Authorize sheriffs to arrest perpetrators and to file charges against defendants for violations of the PFA orders
Clearly permit the court to order relinquishment of all firearms for the duration of the PFA order
Increase the minimum fine for PFA indirect criminal contempt from $100 to $300
Provisions Regarding Firearms
The new amendments also include a number of provisions applicable to firearms surrender, deposit and safekeeping. These provisions are both lengthy and complex, and cannot be completely summarized in this newsletter. Some of the key elements, though, are the following:
The amendments assign primary responsibility for overseeing the relinquishment of firearms to the sheriff's office in each county
Placing weapons with the sheriff is only one way that weapons can be secured during the pendency of a PFA order. Each county sheriff's office is also in charge of a process whereby the defendant can turn weapons over to a third party rather than surrender them to the sheriff
Each sheriff's office is also given responsibility with regard to the return of weapons at the expiration or termination of a PFA order. The amendments obligate the sheriff at the expiration of an order and upon request of the defendant to 1.) determine whether the defendant is not otherwise prohibited from possessing the firearms, and 2.) if the defendant is not otherwise prohibited, to return the surrendered firearms to the defendant.
Agencies or individuals who want to learn more about the new amendments to Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act, or to schedule training about the new provisions, are urged to contact the legal department at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence toll-free at 1-888-235-3425, or to go to their website at www.pcadv.org.
Information in this article was taken from the PCADV newsletter "STOP," the Winter 2006 edition. The article, authored by staff attorney Kathy Morrison, is available on the PCADV website.
Increase the permitted duration of a PFA from 18 months to 36 months
Direct that PFA court judges consider risks of harm to both children and abused parents when awarding temporary custody rights
Give judges authority to order supervised probation of a PFA defendant who violates the order
Require the court to grant an extension of the PFA order upon conviction of the defendant for PFA indirect criminal contempt if the plaintiff requests an extension
Authorize sheriffs to arrest perpetrators and to file charges against defendants for violations of the PFA orders
Clearly permit the court to order relinquishment of all firearms for the duration of the PFA order
Increase the minimum fine for PFA indirect criminal contempt from $100 to $300
Provisions Regarding Firearms
The new amendments also include a number of provisions applicable to firearms surrender, deposit and safekeeping. These provisions are both lengthy and complex, and cannot be completely summarized in this newsletter. Some of the key elements, though, are the following:
The amendments assign primary responsibility for overseeing the relinquishment of firearms to the sheriff's office in each county
Placing weapons with the sheriff is only one way that weapons can be secured during the pendency of a PFA order. Each county sheriff's office is also in charge of a process whereby the defendant can turn weapons over to a third party rather than surrender them to the sheriff
Each sheriff's office is also given responsibility with regard to the return of weapons at the expiration or termination of a PFA order. The amendments obligate the sheriff at the expiration of an order and upon request of the defendant to 1.) determine whether the defendant is not otherwise prohibited from possessing the firearms, and 2.) if the defendant is not otherwise prohibited, to return the surrendered firearms to the defendant.
Agencies or individuals who want to learn more about the new amendments to Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act, or to schedule training about the new provisions, are urged to contact the legal department at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence toll-free at 1-888-235-3425, or to go to their website at www.pcadv.org.
Information in this article was taken from the PCADV newsletter "STOP," the Winter 2006 edition. The article, authored by staff attorney Kathy Morrison, is available on the PCADV website.
posted by Access to Justice at 9:09 AM
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