§2136. Protective orders; content; modification; service

            A. The court may grant any protective order or approve any consent agreement to bring about a cessation of domestic abuse as defined in R.S. 46:2132, or the threat or danger thereof, to a party, any minor children, or any person alleged to be incompetent, which relief may include but is not limited to:

            (1) Granting the relief enumerated in R.S. 46:2135.

            (2) Where there is a duty to support a party, any minor children, or any person alleged to be incompetent living in the residence or household, ordering payment of temporary support or provision of suitable housing for them, or granting possession to the petitioner of the residence or household to the exclusion of the defendant, by evicting the defendant or restoring possession to the petitioner where the residence is solely owned by the defendant and the petitioner has been awarded the temporary custody of the minor children born of the parties.

            (3) Awarding temporary custody of or establishing temporary visitation rights and conditions with regard to any minor children or person alleged to be incompetent.

            (4)(a) Ordering either a medical or mental health evaluation or both of the perpetrator to be conducted by an independent court-appointed evaluator who qualifies as an expert in the field of domestic abuse. The evaluation shall be conducted by a person who has no family, financial, or prior medical or mental health relationship with the perpetrator or his attorney of record.

            (b) After a medical or mental health evaluation has been completed and a report issued, the court may order counseling or other medical or mental health treatment as deemed appropriate.

            B. A protective order may be rendered pursuant to this Part if the court has jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter and either of the following occurs:

            (1) The parties enter into a consent agreement.

            (2) Reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard is given to the person against whom the order is sought sufficient to protect that person's right to due process.

            C. Any protective order issued within this state or outside this state that is consistent with Subsection B of this Section shall be accorded full faith and credit by the courts of this state and enforced as if it were the order of the enforcing court.

            D.(1) On the motion of any party, the court, after notice to the other parties and a hearing, may modify a prior order to exclude any item included in the prior order, or to include any item that could have been included in the prior order.

            (2) On the motion of any party, after a hearing, the court may modify the effective period of a protective order pursuant to Paragraph (F)(2) of this Section.

            E. A protective order made under this Part shall be served on the person to whom the order applies in open court at the close of the hearing, or in the same manner as a writ of injunction.

            F.(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, any final protective order or approved consent agreement shall be for a fixed period of time, not to exceed eighteen months, and may be extended by the court, after a contradictory hearing, in its discretion. Such protective order or extension thereof shall be subject to a devolutive appeal only.

            (2)(a) For any protective order granted by the court which directs the defendant to refrain from abusing, harassing, or interfering with the person as provided in R.S. 46:2135(A)(1), the court may grant the order to be effective for an indefinite period of time as provided by the provisions of this Paragraph on its own motion or by motion of the petitioner. The indefinite period shall be limited to the portion of the protective order which directs the defendant to refrain from abusing, harassing, or interfering with the person as provided in R.S. 46:2135(A)(1).

            (b) The hearing for this motion shall be conducted concurrently with the hearing for the rule to show cause why the protective order should not be issued.

            (c) Any motion to modify the indefinite effective period of the protective order as provided in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph may be granted only after a good faith effort has been made to provide reasonable notice of the hearing to the victim, the victim's designated agent, or the victim's counsel, and either of the following occur:

            (i) The victim, the victim's designated agent, or the victim's counsel is present at the hearing or provides written waiver of such appearance.

            (ii) After a good faith effort has been made to provide reasonable notice of the hearing, the victim could not be located.

            G. Immediately upon granting a protective order or approving any consent agreement, the judge shall cause to have prepared a Uniform Abuse Prevention Order, as provided in R.S. 46:2136.2(C), shall sign such order, and shall immediately forward it to the clerk of court for filing on the day that the order is issued.

            H. The clerk of the issuing court shall transmit the Uniform Abuse Prevention Order to the judicial administrator's office, Louisiana Supreme Court, for entry into the Louisiana Protective Order Registry, as provided in R.S. 46:2136.2(A), by transmission or direct electronic input as expeditiously as possible, but no later than the end of the next calendar day after the order is filed with the clerk of court. The clerk of the issuing court shall also send a copy of the Uniform Abuse Prevention Order, as provided in R.S. 46:2136.2(C), or any modification thereof, to the chief law enforcement officer of the parish where the person or persons protected by the order reside by transmission or direct electronic input as expeditiously as possible, but no later than the end of the next calendar day after the order is filed with the clerk of court. A copy of the Uniform Abuse Prevention Order shall be reviewed by the law enforcement agency and shall be retained on file in the office of the chief law enforcement officer until otherwise directed by the court.

            I. At the proceeding, regardless of whether the court grants the protective order, the court shall notify the petitioner of his right to initiate criminal proceedings and shall inform the petitioner that the granting of a protective order pursuant to the provisions of this Section does not automatically file criminal charges against the defendant.

            Added by Acts 1982, No. 782, §2; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 22, §2; Acts 1997, No. 1156, §7; Acts 1999, No. 1200, §2; Acts 2003, No. 750, §6; Acts 2008, No. 411, §1, eff. June 21, 2008; Acts 2012, No. 197, §2; Acts 2014, No. 317, §3; Acts 2015, No. 85, §1; Acts 2017, No. 381, §4, eff. June 23, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 206, §5; Acts 2018, No. 697, §1; Acts 2019, No. 417, §1; Acts 2023, No. 309, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 2024.