Section 508.155 - Restraining order or interpersonal protective order to be issued upon violation of KRS 508.140 or 508.150(1)(a) Before January 1, 2016, a verdict of guilty or a plea of guilty to KRS 508.140 or 508.150 shall operate as an application for a restraining order utilizing the provisions of this section and limiting the contact of the defendant and the victim who was stalked, unless the victim requests otherwise. (b) Beginning January 1, 2016, a verdict of guilty or a plea of guilty to KRS 508.140 or 508.150 shall operate as an application for an interpersonal protective order issued under KRS Chapter 456, unless the victim requests otherwise. Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS Chapter 456: 1. An interpersonal protective order requested under this subsection may be issued by the court that entered the judgment of conviction;2. The judgment of conviction shall constitute sufficient cause for the entry of the order without the necessity of further proof being taken; and3. The order may be effective for up to ten (10) years, with further renewals in increments of up to ten (10) years.(2) The court shall give the defendant notice of his or her right to request a hearing on the application for a restraining order. If the defendant waives his or her right to a hearing on this matter, then the court may issue the restraining order without a hearing.(3) If the defendant requests a hearing, it shall be held at the time of the verdict or plea of guilty, unless the victim or defendant requests otherwise. The hearing shall be held in the court where the verdict or plea of guilty was entered.(4) A restraining order may grant the following specific relief: (a) An order restraining the defendant from entering the residence, property, school, or place of employment of the victim; or(b) An order restraining the defendant from making contact with the victim, including an order forbidding the defendant from personally, or through an agent, initiating any communication likely to cause serious alarm, annoyance, intimidation, or harassment, including but not limited to personal, written, telephonic, or any other form of written or electronic communication or contact with the victim. An order issued pursuant to this subsection relating to a school, place of business, or similar nonresidential location shall be sufficiently limited to protect the stalking victim but shall also protect the defendant's right to employment, education, or the right to do legitimate business with the employer of a stalking victim as long as the defendant does not have contact with the stalking victim. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a contact by an attorney regarding a legal matter.(5) A restraining order issued pursuant to this section shall be valid for a period of not more than ten (10) years, the specific duration of which shall be determined by the court. Any restraining order shall be based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim, his or her immediate family, or both.(6) Unless the defendant has been convicted of a felony, or is otherwise ineligible to purchase or possess a firearm under federal law, a restraining order issued pursuant to this section shall not operate as a ban on the purchase or possession of firearms or ammunition by the defendant.(7) The restraining order shall be issued on a form prescribed by the Administrative Office of the Courts and may be lifted upon application of the stalking victim to the court which granted the order.(8) Within twenty-four (24) hours of entry of a restraining order or entry of an order rescinding a restraining order, the circuit clerk shall forward a copy of the order to the Law Information Network of Kentucky (LINK).(9) A restraining order issued under this section shall be enforced in any county of the Commonwealth. Law enforcement officers acting in good faith in enforcing a restraining order shall be immune from criminal and civil liability.(10) A violation by the defendant of an order issued pursuant to this section shall be a Class A misdemeanor. Nothing in this section shall preclude the filing of a criminal complaint for stalking based on the same act which is the basis for the violation of the restraining order.Amended by 2015 Ky. Acts ch. HB-8,§ 46, eff. 1/1/2016.Effective:7/15/2002
Created 2002, Ky. Acts ch. 119, sec. 2, effective7/15/2002.