FULL FAITH AND CREDIT PROVISION

 

What is the Full Faith and Credit Provision?

The Full Faith and Credit Provision of the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, U.S.C.§2265, requires states and Indian Tribes to enforce "valid" protection orders issued by foreign states and Indian Tribes as if the orders had been issued by the non-issuing, enforcing state or Indian Tribe. In other words, whatever the implications of violating a protection order are in the new state or Indian land, these apply to enforcement of the order from the old state or Indian land. In addition, if the person is ineligible for a protection order in the new state but she/he was eligible for the protection order in the old state, the new state must still enforce the foreign order.

The FULL FAITH & CREDIT PROVISION makes an out-of-state order valid in the State of Georgia.

Under the FULL FAITH & CREDIT PROVISION, the existing temporary protective order should be enforced by law enforcement if the order meets the requirements of facial validity:

REQUIREMENTS FOR FULL FAITH & CREDIT:

bulletmust be a valid order
bulletthe court that issued the protective order must have jurisdiction over the matter and the parties for the issuing state
bulletthe defendant has been given reasonable notice and the opportunity to be heard sufficient to protect that person’s right to due process.
bulletmust be an order of injunction or any other order issued for the purpose of preventing violent or threatening acts or harassment against, or contact or communication with or physical proximity to, another person, including temporary and final protection orders issued by civil and criminal courts. In other words, Full Faith & Credit applies to temporary and final, civil and criminal protection orders.
bulletthe order must be a protective order and not a support or child custody order.
(However, under the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (28 U.S.C. 1738a) federal law mandates every state give full faith and credit to Custody Orders issued by other states. Also, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act provides that states could decide voluntarily to give full faith and credit to custody orders of other states’. Georgia has adopted this and it is for the court to determine that certain jurisdictional and procedural requirements were met.)
bulletthe order cannot be a mutual consent order. A protection order issued in favor of a defendant and against a battered women who has filed an order seeking protection should not be given full faith and credit unless the batterer filed a cross or counter petition also seeking an order of protection and the court made specific findings that the defendant was entitled to such an order.

Law Enforcement Responsibility under the Full Faith & Credit Provision

Police Officers should enforce out-of-state protection orders that are presented to them if the orders appear valid on their face. In other words, if a battered women shows the officer her out-of-state order, the officer should enforce it as long as it contains both parties’ names and has not yet expired. Even if the out-of-state order is uncertified, it should be enforced if it meets the requirements of facial validity.

OFFICER LIABILITY: You, as a law enforcement officer, are exposed to liability for failure to arrest if you refuse to enforce a valid out-of-state order more so than liability concerns regarding false arrests. Remember, you still have to meet the standard of probable cause for criminal actions before any action is taken on your part.

 

Temporary Protective Order Brochure – general info brochure