N.Y. Family Court Act § 1056: Order of protection

§ 1056. Order of protection. 1. The court may issue an order of

protection in assistance or as a condition of any other order made under

this part. Such order of protection shall remain in effect concurrently

with, shall expire no later than the expiration date of, and may be

extended concurrently with, such other order made under this part,

except as provided in subdivision four and subdivision four-a of this

section. The order of protection may set forth reasonable conditions of

behavior to be observed for a specified time by a person who is before

the court and is a parent or a person legally responsible for the

child's care or the spouse of the parent or other person legally

responsible for the child's care, or both. Such an order may require any

such person:

(a) to stay away from the home, school, business or place of

employment of the other spouse, parent or person legally responsible for

the child's care or the child, and to stay away from any other specific

location designated by the court;

(b) to permit a parent, or a person entitled to visitation by a court

order or a separation agreement, to visit the child at stated periods;

(c) to refrain from committing a family offense, as defined in

subdivision one of section eight hundred twelve of this act, or any

criminal offense against the child or against the other parent or

against any person to whom custody of the child is awarded, or from

harassing, intimidating or threatening such persons;

(d) to permit a designated party to enter the residence during a

specified period of time in order to remove personal belongings not in

issue in this proceeding or in any other proceeding or action under this

act or the domestic relations law;

(e) to refrain from acts of commission or omission that create an

unreasonable risk to the health, safety and welfare of a child;

(f) to provide, either directly or by means of medical and health

insurance, for expenses incurred for medical care and treatment arising

from the incident or incidents forming the basis for the issuance of the

order;

(g) 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without

justification, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,

possessed, leased, kept or held by the person protected by the order or

a minor child residing in such person's household.

2. "Companion animal", as used in this section, shall have the same

meaning as in subdivision five of section three hundred fifty of the

agriculture and markets law;

(h) 1. to promptly return specified identification documents to the

protected party, in whose favor the order of protection or temporary

order of protection is issued; provided, however, that such order may:

(A) include any appropriate provision designed to ensure that any such

document is available for use as evidence in this proceeding, and

available if necessary for legitimate use by the party against whom such

order is issued; and (B) specify the manner in which such return shall

be accomplished.

2. For purposes of this paragraph, "identification document" shall

mean any of the following: (A) exclusively in the name of the protected

party: birth certificate, passport, social security card, health

insurance or other benefits card, a card or document used to access

bank, credit or other financial accounts or records, tax returns, any

driver's license, and immigration documents including but not limited to

a United States permanent resident card and employment authorization

document; and (B) upon motion and after notice and an opportunity to be

heard, any of the following, including those that may reflect joint use

or ownership, that the court determines are necessary and are

appropriately transferred to the protected party: any card or document

used to access bank, credit or other financial accounts or records, tax

returns, and any other identifying cards and documents;

(i) 1. to refrain from remotely controlling any connected devices

affecting the home, vehicle or property of the person protected by the

order.

2. For purposes of this paragraph, "connected device" shall mean any

device, or other physical object that is capable of connecting to the

internet, directly or indirectly, and that is assigned an internet

protocol address or bluetooth address; and

(j) to observe such other conditions as are necessary to further the

purposes of protection.

2. The court may also award custody of the child, during the term of

the order of protection to either parent, or to an appropriate relative

within the second degree. Nothing in this section gives the court power

to place or board out any child or to commit a child to an institution

or agency. In making orders of protection, the court shall so act as to

insure that in the care, protection, discipline and guardianship of the

child his religious faith shall be preserved and protected.

3. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, an order of protection,

or temporary order of protection where applicable, may be entered

against a former spouse and persons who have a child in common,

regardless of whether such persons have been married or have lived

together at any time, or against a member of the same family or

household as defined in subdivision one of section eight hundred twelve

of this act.

4. The court may enter an order of protection independently of any

other order made under this part, against a person who was a member of

the child's household or a person legally responsible as defined in

section one thousand twelve of this chapter, and who is no longer a

member of such household at the time of the disposition and who is not

related by blood or marriage to the child or a member of the child's

household. An order of protection entered pursuant to this subdivision

may be for any period of time up to the child's eighteenth birthday and

upon such conditions as the court deems necessary and proper to protect

the health and safety of the child and the child's caretaker.

4-a. The court may issue an order of protection against a person who

was a member of the child's household or a person legally responsible as

defined in section one thousand twelve of this article and who is not a

parent of the child, independently of any other order made under this

part which may contain any provision authorized under subdivision one of

this section. Such order of protection issued under this section may

remain in effect for a period of up to two years or, if the court finds

special circumstances, a period of up to five years. For purposes of

this section, "special circumstances" shall mean physical injury or

serious physical injury caused by the respondent to the protected person

or persons or any minor child, the use of a dangerous instrument by the

respondent against the protected person or persons or any minor child, a

history of violations of orders of protection by the respondent, prior

convictions for crimes against the protected person or persons or a

minor child by the respondent or the exposure by the respondent of the

protected person or persons or a minor child or any family or household

member to physical injury or acts constituting a sex offense as defined

in subdivision (e) of section one thousand twelve of this article and

like incidents, behaviors and occurrences which to the court constitute

an immediate and ongoing danger to the protected person or persons or a

minor child or any family or household member. Such order of protection

may be extended independently or concurrently with, any order issued

under this article or article ten-A of this chapter. Such order shall be

subject to annual review, modification or vacatur by the court, upon

motion by any party as provided herein. The total period of such order

shall be no more than two years, or if there was a special circumstances

finding, five years from the date of the initial order.

5. The court may issue an order, pursuant to section two hundred

twenty-seven-c of the real property law, authorizing the party for whose

benefit any order of protection has been issued to terminate a lease or

rental agreement pursuant to section two hundred twenty-seven-c of the

real property law.

6. In any proceeding pursuant to this article, a court shall not deny

an order of protection, or dismiss an application for such an order,

solely on the basis that the acts or events alleged are not relatively

contemporaneous with the date of the application or the conclusion of

the action. The duration of any temporary order shall not by itself be a

factor in determining the length or issuance of any final order.

7. The protected party in whose favor the order of protection or

temporary order of protection is issued may not be held to violate an

order issued in his or her favor nor may such protected party be

arrested for violating such order.