A. A victim of domestic abuse may petition the court under the Family Violence Protection Act for an order of protection.

B. The petition shall be made under oath or shall be accompanied by a sworn affidavit setting out specific facts showing the alleged domestic abuse.

C. The petition shall state whether any other domestic action is pending between the petitioner and the respondent.

D. If any other domestic action is pending between the petitioner and the respondent, the parties shall not be compelled to mediate any aspect of the case arising from the Family Violence Protection Act unless the court finds that appropriate safeguards exist to protect each of the parties and that both parties can fairly mediate with such safeguards.

E. An action brought under the Family Violence Protection Act is independent of any proceeding for annulment, separation or divorce between the parties.

F. Remedies granted pursuant to the Family Violence Protection Act are in addition to and shall not limit other civil or criminal remedies available to the parties.

G. Standard simplified petition forms with instructions for completion shall be available to all parties. Law enforcement agencies shall keep such forms and make them available upon request to alleged victims of domestic abuse.

History: Laws 1987, ch. 286, § 3; 1993, ch. 109, § 2; 2008, ch. 40, § 3.

The 2008 amendment, effective July 1, 2008, deleted former Subsection G that authorized the court to permit a petitioner to proceed as an indigent.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, in Subsection C, deleted the following language which formerly appeared at the beginning of the subsection: "No petitioner is required to file for annulment, separation or divorce as a prerequisite to obtaining an order of protection. However, the", inserted "The" at the beginning of the subsection, and deleted the former last sentence which read "If an action is pending, the petition shall be filed in the court which has jurisdiction over the pending action"; added Subsections D, E, and F and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; and substituted "respondent" for "alleged perpetrator of the domestic abuse" in the second sentence of Subsection G.

Availability of simple forms for victims. — Because the legislature has recognized that many people who are the victims of domestic violence are unable to obtain counsel, it has mandated that simplified forms be available for such people to use. Lujan v. Casados-Lujan, 2004-NMCA-036, 135 N.M. 285, 87 P.3d 1067, cert. denied, 2004-NMCERT-003 135 N.M. 319, 88 P.3d 261.