The Full Faith and Credit Project

The Full Faith and Credit Project

Publication Date: April 2001

Summary

The Full Faith and Credit Project was created in 1995 through a cooperative agreement between the Office for Victims of Crime of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) to promote and facilitate inter-jurisdictional enforcement of civil and criminal protection orders in state and tribal courts pursuant to the Full Faith and Credit provision of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. The project, located in Washington, DC, now operates under a cooperative agreement between PCADV and the Violence Against Women Office, U.S. Department of Justice.

The full faith and credit provision (18 U.S.C. § 2265) directs that any protection order issued by the court of a state or tribe shall be accorded full faith and credit by all other states, tribes, and territories, if the due process and jurisdictional requirements of the provision are met.

The mission of the FFC Project is to promote and facilitate implementation of § 2265 in all states, tribes, and territories by raising public awareness of the requirements of the statute and by providing problem-solving technical assistance and support to individuals and jurisdictions. The project provides ongoing assistance and training on full faith and credit, the federal firearms prohibitions, and the federal domestic violence and stalking crimes to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court administrators and other court personnel, private attorneys, victim advocates, and others who work with victims of domestic violence and stalking.

The Project offers training and problem-solving technical assistance by:

• actively participating in full faith and credit training programs, workshops, and regional meetings to promote awareness of and compliance with § 2255;
• developing and disseminating materials to help jurisdictions implement the statute;
• providing review and critique of implementing legislation, policies, and procedures;
• responding to full faith and credit issues in the field by offering on-site technical assistance; and
• providing problem-solving telephone consultations on specific questions related to full faith and credit.

The Project has developed a number of materials designed to help jurisdictions comply with the mandate of § 2265 including:

• an overview of the full faith and credit provision;
• a matrix containing summaries of full faith and credit implementing legislation;
• a matrix containing information about statewide protection order registries;
• model standardized forms;
• model implementing legislation;
• a full faith and credit booklet for advocates;
• a full faith and credit booklet for survivors;
• a matrix containing state firearm statutes that relate to domestic violence and stalking;
• digests of federal firearm cases; and
• digest of federal domestic violence and stalking crime cases.

For more information or assistance, contact the Full Faith and Credit Project at (800) 256-5883, ext. 2 or (202) 265-0967.

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