The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 13 V.S.A. § 1461)
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§ 1461. Relief
(a) If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant has committed
a hate-motivated crime against the complainant, or if the parties stipulate to an
order, the court shall make such preliminary and final orders as it deems necessary
to protect the complainant and the complainant’s property and other appropriate persons
who are in need of protection and such persons’ property, including any of the following
orders:
(1) an order to refrain from committing any crime against the complainant;
(2) an order restricting the defendant’s ability to contact the complainant;
(3) an order prohibiting the defendant from coming within a fixed distance of the complainant,
the complainant’s residence or other designated locations where the complainant is
likely to spend time;
(4) an order to refrain from committing a hate-motivated crime against the complainant,
other appropriate persons who are in need of protection and members of any protected
category.
(b) A preliminary order issued under this chapter shall remain in effect until a final
order is issued or for a fixed period that the court deems appropriate, but in no
event more than 120 days without a further order from the court. A final order shall
be issued for a fixed period, but in no event more than two years without a further
order from the court. The court may extend any order for such time as it deems necessary
to protect the complainant, other appropriate persons who are in need of protection
and members of any protected category. It shall not be necessary for the court to
find that the defendant has committed a hate-motivated crime during the pendency of
an order to extend the terms of the order; however, the court shall find that there
is a reasonable basis for continued protection. The court may modify its order at
any subsequent time upon motion by either party and a showing of good cause.
(c) Every preliminary or final order issued under this section shall bear the following
language: VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER MAY BE PROSECUTED AS A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY A TERM
OF IMPRISONMENT OR A FINE, OR BOTH, OR MAY BE PROSECUTED AS CRIMINAL CONTEMPT PUNISHABLE
BY A TERM OF IMPRISONMENT OR A FINE, OR BOTH. (Added 1999, No. 56, § 3.)
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§§ 1461-1467. Repealed. 1987, No. 234 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.