Vermont § 5138 - Enforcement

§ 5138. Enforcement

• (a) Law enforcement officers are authorized to enforce orders issued under this chapter.
  A foreign abuse prevention order as defined in 15 V.S.A. § 1101 shall be accorded full faith and credit throughout this State and shall be enforced
  as if it were an order of this State. Law enforcement officers may rely upon a copy
  of any order issued under this chapter or any foreign abuse prevention order. Enforcement
  may include making an arrest in accordance with the provisions of Rule 3 of the Vermont
  Rules of Criminal Procedure. (b) In addition to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, violation of an order
  issued under this chapter may be prosecuted as criminal contempt under Rule 42 of
  Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure. The prosecution for criminal contempt may be
  initiated by the State’s Attorney in the Criminal or Civil Division of the Superior
  Court in the unit or county in which the violation occurred. The maximum penalty which
  may be imposed under this subsection shall be a fine of $1,000.00 or imprisonment
  for six months, or both. A sentence of imprisonment upon conviction for criminal contempt
  may be stayed in the discretion of the court, pending the expiration of the time allowed
  for filing notice of appeal or pending appeal if any appeal is taken. After two years
  have passed from conviction under this subsection, the court may on motion of the
  defendant expunge the record of the criminal proceeding and conviction unless the
  defendant has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude
  or a violation of a protection order after such initial adjudication. (Added 2005, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2006.)