General Provisions for the Prevention of Domestic Violence

Division 10, Part 2 of the California Family Code deals with general provisions concerning the prevention of domestic violence. Section 6220 explains that the purpose of this division is to prevent acts of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual abuse and to provide for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to enable these persons to seek a resolution of the causes of the violence.

Section 6221 provides that this division applies to any order described in this division, whether the order is issued in a proceeding brought pursuant to this division, in an action brought pursuant to the Uniform Parentage Act, or in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties.

Section 6222 states that there is no filing fee for an application, a responsive pleading, or an order to show cause that seeks to obtain, modify, or enforce a protective order or other order authorized by this division when the request for the other order is necessary to obtain or give effect to a protective order.

Section 6224 says that an order described in this division must state on its face the date of expiration of the order and the specified statements in substantially the following form.

Section 6225 explains that a petition for an order is valid and the order is enforceable without explicitly stating the address of the petitioner or the petitioner’s place of residence, school, employment, the place where the petitioner’s child is provided child care services, or the child’s school.

Section 6226 required the Judicial Council to prescribe the form of the orders and any other documents required by this division and it had to promulgate forms and instructions for applying for orders described in this division.

Section 6226.5 required the Judicial Council to amend the Judicial Council form entitled “Can a Domestic Violence Restraining Order Help Me?” to include a brief description of the address confidentiality program, the benefits of enrollment in the program for victims of domestic violence, and the internet address for the Secretary of State’s internet web page that contains more detailed information about the program.

Section 6227 sets forth that the remedies provided in this division are in addition to any other civil or criminal remedies that may be available to the petitioner.

Section 6228 requires state and local law enforcement agencies to provide, upon request and without charging a fee, one copy of all incident report face sheets, one copy of all incident reports, a copy of any accompanying or related photographs of a victim’s injuries, property damage, to a victim, or the victim’s representative for five types of specified Penal Code statutes.

This section applies only requests for domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult face sheets or incident reports, photographs, 911 recordings, and evidence made within five years from the date of completion of the incident report. This section is known and may be cited as the Access to Domestic Violence Reports Act of 1999. The terms “victim” and “representatives of the victim.”

Section 6229 explains that a minor, under 12 years of age, accompanied by a duly appointed and acting guardian ad litem, must be permitted to appear in court without counsel for the limited purpose of requesting or opposing a request for a temporary restraining order or injunction.