§ 12-29-4 - Restrictions upon and duties of court.
SECTION 12-29-4
§ 12-29-4 Restrictions upon and duties ofcourt. – (a) Because of the likelihood of repeated violence directed at those who havebeen victims of domestic violence in the past, when a person is charged with orarrested for a crime involving domestic violence, that person may not bereleased from custody on bail or personal recognizance before arraignmentwithout first appearing before the court or bail commissioner. The court orbail commissioner authorizing release shall issue a no-contact orderprohibiting the person charged or arrested from having contact with the victim.
(2) At the time of arraignment or bail hearing the court orbail commissioner shall determine whether a no-contact order shall be issued orextended.
(3) Willful violation of a court order issued undersubdivision (1), (2), or as part of disposition of this subdivision of thissubsection is a misdemeanor. The written order releasing the person charged orthe written order issued at the time of disposition shall contain the court'sdirective and shall bear the legend: "Violation of this order is a criminaloffense under this section and will subject a violator to arrest". A copy ofthe order shall be provided to the victim.
(4) Whenever an order prohibiting contact is issued,modified, or terminated under subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection,the clerk of the court shall forward a copy of the order on or before the nextjudicial day to the appropriate law enforcement agency specified in the order.
(b) Because of the serious nature of domestic violence, thecourt in domestic violence actions:
(1) Shall not dismiss any charge or delay disposition becauseof concurrent dissolution of marriage or other civil proceedings;
(2) Shall not require proof that either party is seeking adissolution of marriage prior to instigation of criminal proceedings;
(3) Shall identify by reasonable means on docket sheets thosecriminal actions arising from acts of domestic violence; and
(4) Shall make clear to the defendant and victim that theprosecution of the domestic violence action is determined by the prosecutor andnot the victim.
(c) To facilitate compliance with the provisions of thissection, the district court shall assure that the misdemeanor and felonycomplaint forms indicate whether the crime charged involves domestic violenceand, if so, the relationship of the victim and defendant.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 12-10-12, thefiling of any complaint for a crime involving domestic violence shall beconditioned upon the defendant keeping the peace and being of good behavior fora period of three (3) years. In the event a particular case involving domesticviolence is filed on a plea of not guilty, guilty or nolo contendere pursuantto section 12-10-12, the court having jurisdiction shall retain the records ofthe case for a period of three (3) years from the date of the filing. Theserecords shall not be expunged, sealed, or otherwise destroyed for a period ofthree (3) years from the date of filing. Furthermore, the destruction orsealing of records in the possession of the department of attorney generalbureau of criminal identification, the superintendent of the state police, orthe police departments of any city or town after a filing related to a crimeinvolving domestic violence shall be governed by section 12-1-12.