NCJ Number
93015
Journal
Journal of Missouri Bar Dated: (December 1982) Pages: 582-588
Date Published
1982
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The Missouri Supreme Court found the 1980 Adult Abuse Act, Senate Bill 524, to be constitutional, but practical problems and unanswered legal questions remain.
Abstract
The effective date of an order of protection is of primary concern to a petitioner who returns home with an ex parte order of protection that restrains the respondent from abusing the petitioner and prohibiting the respondent from entering the petitioner's residence. The question is whether the effectiveness of the petitioner's ex parte order of protection is dependent upon serving notice to an often inaccessible respondent. The decision in State Ex Rel. Williams v. Marsh supports the proposition that respondents must be notified of the conduct on their part which may be criminal. Added to the practical problems of locating respondents is the constraint that a respondent must be served at least 5 days prior to a hearing which must be held not later than 15 days after the filing of a petition. Orders of protection, if willfully disobeyed, can be enforced through criminal contempt proceedings. For authorization of out-of-state service, an adult abuse case must be found to constitute a cause of action arising from one of the long-arm contracts enumerated in Rule 54.06(a). Senate 468 provides an additional means of awarding child support when jurisdiction is based upon out-of-state service. The ultimate enforcement of protection orders rests with the courts and law enforcement agenices. Twenty-one notes are supplied.