[A] proposed bill would authorize police in Vermont to enforce domestic violence protection orders issued in Canada.
Canada already recognizes such orders from Vermont as well as the rest of the United States.
There is now an effort underway to have states across the United States recognize similar Canadian orders.
The push is being made by the Uniform Law Commission, a panel with representation from states across country that seeks to promote a standard practice across jurisdictions.
So far, a handful of state legislatures have approved measures authorizing police in those jurisdictions to enforce Canadian domestic violence protection orders.
Those states are Wisconsin, Nevada, California, North Dakota and Delaware, according the Uniform Law Commission’s website.
Legislation is also currently pending in Vermont, Oregon and Washington.
In Vermont, the bill, H.413, is sponsored by Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
The panel heard testimony on the proposal Thursday, with Rich Cassidy, a Vermont member of the Uniform Law Commission, among those speaking in favor of the legislation.
“The basic thrust of this idea is to treat Canadian domestic violence protection orders in a way that is the equivalent to the way we treat those orders from what some people call sister states,” he said.
Vermont law enforcement officers are already authorized to enforce domestic violence orders from other states.
First time violation of an abuse prevention order in Vermont is a misdemeanor offense, carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail.
“We’re going to treat this as if it was a U.S. order,” Cassidy said of violations of Canadian domestic violence protection orders.
“That’s what we do with a Vermont order, that’s what we do with a Massachusetts order, and if this passes,” he said, “that’s what we would do with a Nova Scotia order.”
The legislation proposed in Vermont to enforce Canadian orders is a model that the Uniform Law Commission has proposed for other states to follow as well.
Cassidy urged the committee to tinker as little as possible with the legislation in an effort to keep it standard across the country.
He said there have been questions raised about whether the proposal could be expanded to include recognition of domestic violence protections from other countries in addition to Canada.
“Trying to stretch to other nations is a little more complex,” he said, adding that different countries have different legal processes and standards.
Rep. Kenneth Goslant, R-Northfield, a Judiciary Committee member, asked Cassidy how many cases arise each year that would be covered by the proposed legislation.
“I have no idea,” Cassidy said. “I do know that our leading trading partner in the world is Canada and that we have many, many, many Canadian visitors.”
Vermont Superior Chief Judge Brian Grearson also testified, telling the committee he didn’t believe the proposed legislation would present a burden for the judiciary.
“I’d think the impact on the courts would be minimal,” he said. He does not expect it would add many cases annually to the docket.
Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said while the number of cases the law would apply to may be limited it was important to be “proactive.”
Sarah Robinson, deputy director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, was scheduled to testify on the bill Thursday, but time ran out.
After the hearing, Robinson expressed support for the legislation.
“Even though domestic violence is a widespread problem in Vermont,” she said, “the majority of victims don’t engage law enforcement or the courts, but when they do, protection orders are really one of the primary tools they use to seek safety.”
She also talked of the importance of “portability” for such orders, especially with Canada bordering Vermont and people traveling from Canada into Vermont as tourists or for a more permanent move.
“It’s not unlikely for victims to have to uproot their lives and move as a result of the abuse, to flee the area that they’re in,” Robinson said. “To be able to have the portability of these protections wherever they land is essential.”
The proposed legislation is not the first bill this session that involved domestic violence and crossing borders.
The House earlier this session approved H.7, which would allow for an increased penalty for a person charged with domestic assault in Vermont who has a previous conviction for a similar offense in another state.
The legislation would permit a prior out-of-state domestic assault conviction to bump a misdemeanor domestic assault charge in Vermont up to a felony.
That bill is now in the Senate for consideration.
