A new law intended to “fix a gap” in the protection for victims of domestic violence took effect on December 1. Called Jordan’s Law, the law allows a court to temporarily extend a domestic violence order of protection in the event it expires while the parties wait for an upcoming court date.
Sponsored by Sen. Dave Craven, R-Randolph, the original bill was filed after a woman called for police help in February of last year. The police were not able to intervene because her protective order had expired and she had an upcoming court date to renew it.
After December 1, courts are allowed to temporarily renew an order while the protective order application is pending. The court can extend the order until the date for the renewal hearing or 30 days from the date the current order is set to expire, whichever occurs first, unless both parties consent to a longer renewal.
The new law also allows optional participation in custody mediation, rather than mandatory participation.