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Abuse Laws
Nebraska
2001
Note: This page features
auto-scrolling links by statute.
Nabraska Statutes:
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§
42-901. Act, how cited.
Sections 42-901 to 42-931 shall be known and may be cited as
the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act.
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§
42-902. Legislative intent.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that there is a present
and growing need to develop services which will lessen and reduce
the trauma of domestic abuse. It is the intent of the Protection
from Domestic Abuse Act to provide abused family and household
members necessary services including shelter, counseling, social
services, and limited medical care and legal assistance.
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42-903. Terms, defined.
For purposes of the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act, unless
the context otherwise requires:
(1)
Abuse means the occurrence of one or more of the following acts
between household members:
(a)
Attempting to cause or intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
causing bodily injury with or without a deadly weapon; or
(b)
Placing, by physical menace, another in fear of imminent bodily
injury;
(2)
Department means the Department of Health and Human Services;
(3)
Family or household members includes spouses or former spouses,
children, persons who are presently residing together or who
have resided together in the past, persons who have a child
in common whether or not they have been married or have lived
together at any time, and other persons related by consanguinity
or affinity; and
(4)
Law enforcement agency means the police department or town marshal
in incorporated municipalities and the office of the sheriff
in unincorporated areas.
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§
42-904. Department; programs and services; duties.
The department shall establish and maintain comprehensive support
services to aid victims of domestic abuse and to provide prevention
and treatment programs to aid victims of domestic abuse, their
families, and abusers.
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§
42-905. Comprehensive support services; enumerated.
The comprehensive support services shall include, but not be
limited to:
(1)
Emergency services for victims of abuse and their families;
(2)
Support programs that meet specific needs of victims of abuse
and their families;
(3)
Education, counseling, and supportive programs for the abuser;
(4)
Programs to aid in the prevention and elimination of domestic
violence which shall include education and public awareness;
and
(5)
Assistance in completing the standard petition and affidavit
forms for persons who file a petition and affidavit for a protection
order.
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42-906. Support services; to whom provided.
The department shall provide the support services as provided
in section 42-905 to any person who seeks such services.
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42-907. Emergency services; enumerated.
The department shall provide emergency services which shall
consist of up to seventy-two hours of crisis intervention services
including:
(1)
Constant access and intake to services;
(2)
Immediate transportation from a victim's home or other location
to a hospital ora place of safety;
(3)
Immediate medical services or first aid;
(4)
Emergency legal counseling and referral;
(5)
Crisis counseling to provide support and assurance of safety;
(6)
Emergency financial aid; and
(7)
Safe living environments that will provide a supportive, nonthreatening
shelter to victims, their families, and household members.
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§
42-908. Department; victim; diagnostic assessment; referral;
followup.
The department shall, as soon as possible after initial contact
with the victim, determine through diagnostic assessment which
programs are needed and desired by the victim and family members.
The department shall make appropriate referral and conduct appropriate
followup. The department shall, to the extent possible, use
private sources to provide the support services.
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§
42-909. Department; victim; provide support services; plan of
action.
The department shall, in addition to the emergency services,
provide support services as needed to a victim of domestic abuse
for up to thirty days. The support services shall be problem
oriented and formulate a plan of action for the victim. Such
services may include relocation, financial security, employment,
advocacy, assertiveness training, substance abuse counseling,
and alternatives to returning to the abuser. Also, the department
shall provide services for children including day care, education,
and counseling.
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42-910. Department; services for children; enumerated.
The department shall provide services for children which may
include:
(1)
Emergency services which provide housing, food, clothing, and
transportation to school;
(2)
Counseling for trauma which occurs when children witness or
experience family violence;
(3)
Programs which provide for the appropriate educational needs
of the individual child; and
(4)
Services for child care in the necessary absence of the victim
parent.
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§
42-911. Department; victims; provide resource information.
The department shall provide complete resource information for
victims and their families on legal, medical, financial, vocational,
welfare, child care, housing, and other support services.
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42-912. Department; develop client feedback; collect statistical
data.
The department shall develop a means of client feedback and
collect statistical data to assist it in evaluating program
effectiveness.
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42-913. Department; person who commits domestic abuse; programs
and services.
The department shall provide such programs and services as it
deems appropriate for the person who commits domestic abuse.
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42-914. Department; domestic violence; develop educational curriculum.
The department shall develop, in cooperation with the State
Department of Education, a kindergarten through postsecondary
educational curriculum relating to domestic violence.
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42-915. Department; families; develop community support systems.
The department shall assist in developing community support
systems for families to aid in the deterrence of all family
crisis situations.
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42-916. Department; family program; prevent generational continuation
of abuse.
The department shall provide a family program, especially for
children, to prevent the generational continuation of abuse
within the family.
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42-917. Delivery of services; cooperation; coordination of programs.
The delivery of all services provided for under the Protection
from Domestic Abuse Act shall be done in cooperation with existing
public, private, state, and local programs whenever possible
to avoid duplication of services. Special effort shall be taken
to coordinate programs with the Department of Labor, the Nebraska
Commission on the Status of Women, the State Department of Education,
the Division of Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, and Addiction Services
of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department
of Health and Human Services Regulation and Licensure, the Department
of Health and Human Services Finance and Support, other appropriate
agencies, community service agencies, and private sources.
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§
42-918. Contact with victims of spouse abuse and families; confidentiality;
violation; penalty.
Under the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act, strict confidence
shall be observed in all contact with victims of spouse abuse
and their families. Any record, report, or files maintained
by the department pursuant to the act shall be confidential,
except that the department may release statistical information,
while not revealing names. Violation of this section shall be
a Class V misdemeanor.
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§
42-919. Programs; administered independent of welfare assistance
programs.
All programs under the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act shall
be separate and administered independent of any welfare assistance
program.
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42-920. Department; contract for services.
The department may construct, lease, purchase, purchase on contract,
utilize vendor payment, and contract for services connected
with the operation of the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act
as needs and interest demand.
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42-921. Department; power to accept gifts, grants, devises,
and bequests; use.
The department may accept gifts, grants, devises, and bequests
of real and personal property from public or private sources
to carry out the purposes of the Protection from Domestic Abuse
Act. The department may sell, lease, exchange, invest, or expend
such gifts, grants, devises, and bequests or the proceeds, rents,
profits, and income therefrom according to the terms and conditions
thereof.
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§
42-922. Department; adopt rules and regulations.
The department shall adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations
and perform all other acts as may be necessary or appropriate
to carry out the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act. Such rules
and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, rules
and regulations relating to fees charged, training of personnel,
and administration of the program.
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§
42-923. Department; determine ability to pay for services;
uniform fee schedule; reduced or waived; when.
The department shall determine the ability of the spouses or
individuals to pay for services but shall not charge more than
the actual cost. The department shall prepare and adopt a uniform
fee schedule to be used. The scheduled fees may be reduced or
waived by authorization of the department according to the rules
of the department and as may be considered necessary to further
the objective of the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act. The
use of facilities and services established by the act shall
not be denied residents of Nebraska because of inability to
pay scheduled fees. Any fees received under this section shall
be deposited in the General Fund.
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§
42-924. Protection order; when authorized; term; violation;
penalty; construction of sections.
(1) Any victim of domestic abuse may file a petition and affidavit
for a protection order as provided in subsection (2) of this
section. Upon the filing of such a petition and affidavit in
support thereof, the judge or court may issue a protection order
without bond granting the following relief:
(a)
Enjoining the respondent from imposing any restraint upon
the petitioner or upon the liberty of the petitioner;
(b)
Enjoining the respondent from threatening, assaulting, molesting,
attacking, or otherwise disturbing the peace of the petitioner;
(c)
Enjoining the respondent from telephoning, contacting, or
otherwise communicating with the petitioner;
(d)
Removing and excluding the respondent from the residence of
the petitioner, regardless of the ownership of the residence;
(e)
Ordering the respondent to stay away from any place specified
by the court;
(f) Awarding the petitioner temporary custody of any minor
children not to exceed ninety days; or
(g)
Ordering such other relief deemed necessary to provide for
the safety and welfare of the petitioner and any designated
family or household member.
(2)
Petitions for protection orders shall be filed with the clerk
of the district court, and the proceeding may be heard by the
county court or the district court as provided in section 25-2740.
(3)
A petition filed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section
may not be withdrawn except upon order of the court. An order
issued pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall specify
that it is effective for a period of one year and, if the order
grants temporary custody, the number of days of custody granted
to the petitioner unless otherwise modified by the court. Any
person who knowingly violates an order issued pursuant to subsection
(1) of this section or section 42-931 after service shall be
guilty of a Class II misdemeanor, except that (a) any person
convicted of violating such order who has a prior conviction
for violating a protection order shall be guilty of a Class
I misdemeanor and (b) any person convicted of violating such
order who has a prior conviction for violating the same protection
order shall be guilty of a Class IV felony.
(4)
If there is any conflict between sections 42-924 to 42-926 and
any other provision of law, sections 42-924 to 42-926 shall
govern.
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§
42-925. Ex parte protection order; notice requirements.
Any order issued under subsection (1) of section 42-924 may
be issued ex parte to the respondentif it reasonably appears
from the specific facts included in the affidavit that the petitioner
will be in immediate danger of abuse before the matter can be
heard on notice.
(1)
If the specific facts included in the affidavit do not show
that the petitioner will be in immediate danger of abuse or
(2)
if the court does not issue an ex parte order or grants only
part of the relief sought, the court or judge may forthwith
cause notice of the petition to be given to the respondent stating
that he or she may show cause, not more than fourteen days after
service upon him or her, why such order should not be entered.
If
such ex parte order is issued to the respondent, the court shall
forthwith cause notice of the petition and order to be given
the respondent stating that, upon service on the respondent,
the order shall remain in effect for a period of one year and,
if the order grants temporary custody, that such custody shall
not exceed the number of days specified by the court unless
the respondent shows cause why the order should not remain in
effect. The court shall also cause to be served upon the respondent
a form with which to request a show-cause hearing. If the respondent
wishes to appear and show cause why the order should not remain
in effect, he or she shall affix his or her current address,
telephone number, and signature to the form and return it to
the clerk of the district court within five days after service
upon him or her. Upon receipt of the request for a show-cause
hearing, the court shall immediately schedule a show-cause hearing
to be held within thirty days after the receipt of the request
for a show-cause hearing and shall notify the petitioner and
respondent of the hearing date.
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42-926. Protection order; copies; distribution; sheriff;
duties; dismissal or modification; clerk of court; duties.
Upon the issuance of any protection order under section 42-925,
the clerk of the court shall forthwith provide the petitioner,
without charge, with two certified copies of such order. The
clerk of the court shall also forthwith provide the local police
department or local law enforcement agency and the local sheriff's
office, without charge, with one copy each of such order and
one copy each of the sheriff's return thereon. The clerk of
the court shall also forthwith provide a copy of the protection
order to the sheriff's office in the county where the respondent
may be personally served together with instructions for service.
Upon receipt of the order and instructions for service, such
sheriff's office shall forthwith serve the protection order
upon the respondent and file its return thereon with the clerk
of the court which issued the protection order within fourteen
days of the issuance of the protection order. If any protection
order is dismissed or modified by the court, the clerk of the
court shall forthwith provide the local police department or
local law enforcement agency and the local sheriff's office,
without charge, with one copy each of the order of dismissal
or modification.
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§
42-927. Law enforcement agencies; education and training programs.
All law enforcement agencies in the state shall provide officers
employed by them with an education and training program designed
to inform the officers of the problems of domestic abuse, procedures
to deal with such problems, the Protection from Domestic Abuse
Act, and the services and facilities available to abused family
and household members.
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§
42-928. Protection order; restraining order; violation; arrest,
when.
A peace officer shall with or without a warrant arrest a person
if
(1)
the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has
committed a violation of an order issued pursuant to section
42-924, a violation of section 42- 925, a violation of an order
excluding a person from certain premises issued pursuant to
section 42-357, or a violation of a valid foreign protection
order recognized pursuant to section 42-931 and
(2)
a petitioner under section 42-924 or 42-925, an applicant for
an order excluding a person from certain premises issued pursuant
to section 42-357, or a person protected under a valid foreign
protection order recognized pursuant to section 42-931 provides
the peace officer with a copy of a protection order or an order
excluding a person from certain premises issued under such sections
or the peace officer determines that such an order exists after
communicating with the local law enforcement agency.
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42-929. Arrest; peace officer; duties; conditions of release.
A peace officer making an arrest pursuant to section 42-928
shall take such person into custody and take such person before
a judge of the county court or the court which issued the protection
order. At such time the court shall establish the conditions
of such person's release from custody, including the determination
of bond or recognizance, as the case may be. The court shall
issue an order directing that such person shall have no contact
with the alleged victim of the abuse or violation.
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§
42-930. Law enforcement agency; Nebraska Commission on Law
Enforcement and Criminal Justice; duties.
(1) By January 1, 1998, each law enforcement agency shall develop
a system for recording incidents of domestic abuse within its
jurisdiction. All incidents of domestic abuse, whether or not
an arrest was made, shall be documented with a written incident
report form that includes a domestic abuse identifier.
(2)
By January 1, 1998, the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement
and Criminal Justice shall develop or shall approve a monthly
reporting process. Each law enforcement agency shall compile
and submit a monthly report to the commission on the number
of domestic abuse incidents recorded within its jurisdiction.
(3)
The commission shall report annually to the Governor, the Legislature,
and the public the total number of incidents of domestic abuse
reported by each reporting agency.
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42-931. Foreign protection order; enforcement.
(1) A valid foreign protection order related to domestic or
family abuse issued by a court of another state, tribe, or territory
shall be accorded full faith and credit by the courts of this
state and enforced as if it were issued in this state.
(2)
A foreign protection order related to domestic or family abuse
issued by a court of another state, tribe, or territory shall
be valid if:
(a)
The issuing court had jurisdiction over the parties and matter
under the law of such state, tribe, or territory;
(b)
The respondent was given reasonable notice and an opportunity
to be heard sufficient to protect the respondent's right to
due process before the order was issued; and
(c)
The protection order from another jurisdiction has not been
rendered against both the petitioner and the respondent, unless:
(i)
The respondent filed a cross or counter petition, complaint,
or other written pleading seeking such a protection order;
and (ii)
the issuing court made specific findings of domestic or
family abuse against both the petitioner and respondent
and determined that each party was entitled to such an order.
There is a presumption of the validity of the foreign protection
order when the order appears authentic on its face.
(3)
A peace officer may rely upon a copy of any putatively valid
foreign protection order which has been provided to the peace
officer by any source. (back to top)
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