Report
Assessing Protection From Abuse Orders in Maine
Assessing Protection from Abuse Orders in Maine is the result of the Maine Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) and the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence (MCEDV) seeking and securing funding from the Bureau of Justice Statistics for an 18-month research project to scan and analyze a year’s worth of final protection from abuse (PFA) orders and generate a first-of-its-kind dataset for Maine.
Although the Maine Judicial Branch’s electronic case management system collects some data about the relief that is ordered by the court, certain details are not available through this system and can only be accessed through a manual review of each physical case file—a labor-intensive but essential undertaking to evaluate outcomes and assess current practices. Maine SAC researchers carried out this work by travelling over 3,400 miles to 25 district courts statewide, where they reviewed thousands of 2023 case files in which a final order had been issued. Ultimately, researchers generated a dataset of 2,079 cases, which accounts for 91% of all 2023 PFA cases in which a final order was issued.
Key findings from the study included that the majority of final 2023 PFA orders were filed against an intimate partner (77%), were for exactly 24 months (66%), and were determined by agreement (59%), meaning the plaintiff and defendant agreed upon the provisions contained in the final order before a court hearing.
Additional findings include:
- Across the state, the vast majority of firearm relinquishment orders specify law enforcement as the receiving party.
- Final orders determined by agreement of both parties are less likely to include firearm relinquishment provisions than orders determined by a judge.
- Firearm relinquishment is also influenced by court region.
- Custody provisions were closely associated with parties agreeing to the terms of an order prior to the final hearing.
- Paragraphs It is further ordered and P. Limits to the defendant’s rights of contact are frequently being used to address reliefs that appear elsewhere on the form.
While the order data does not explain the reasons behind the disparities by order determination type and by court region, the findings provide a strong foundation for further research and to inform ongoing policy discussions.
Andrea Mancuso, Public Policy Director at MCEDV, spoke to the effect this report will have in Maine: “This report is an incredibly valuable resource for policymakers as well as advocates who are working hand in hand with survivors to access Maine’s civil justice system across Maine every day. This data will help us over the next several years in the work to ensure that the protections and support available to respond to the needs of survivors in Maine’s protection from abuse statute can be functionally accessed by them.”