§ 2803.3 Statements pertaining to domestic abuse.

This rule covers statements made by victims of domestic abuse and explains when courts can use those statements as evidence. If a victim tells a police officer about domestic abuse within one week of it happening, that statement can be used in court later. The same is true if a victim writes about the abuse on a protective order application within one week, or testifies about it at a protective order hearing.

These statements can be used in different types of criminal and juvenile court proceedings. This includes hearings before trial, hearings after trial, preliminary hearings, hearings to check if there's enough evidence for a case to move forward, and hearings about violating probation or messing up a deferred judgment.

In simple terms, this rule makes it easier for prosecutors to use a victim's early statements about abuse as evidence, even in later court proceedings. This matters because sometimes victims become afraid to testify again or change their story over time. The rule allows their original statements, made close to when the abuse happened, to still count as evidence in court.