In a family protection case, what may the court require of the victim or the family protection case investigator at the hearing, and when may it order the alleged perpetrator out of the courtroom?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
The practice file for this exercise holds the hearing record, which shows whether the court required an opinion statement or submission of materials and from whom, any opinion or materials filed in response, and any note recording that the alleged family violence offender was ordered to leave, and why.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the paragraph as a power resting on the court's own finding of necessity: where the court considers it necessary at the hearing, it may require the victim or the family protection case investigator to state an opinion or submit materials, and the judge may order the alleged family violence offender to leave only where the judge recognises that as necessary for a fair opinion statement and the like.
Another reading stresses that the removal power attaches to the requirement the court makes under this paragraph, whether that requirement is an opinion statement or a submission of materials, and it sets no test for what makes a requirement necessary and no standard for when fairness calls for removal.
Your judgment
When the judge ordered the alleged family violence offender to leave, what facts about the hearing could show that removal was needed for a fair opinion statement and the like?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change when the judge may order the alleged family violence offender to leave, or if a court decision explains what makes a requirement under this paragraph necessary or when fairness calls for removal.