(2000)

Dear Honorable Marna McLendon

You have requested an opinion regarding the criminal enforcement of out-of-state protective orders in domestic violence cases. Your inquiry requires an interpretation of a State statute that mandates enforcement of out-of-state orders and authorizes Maryland law enforcement officers to arrest a person who has violated an out-of-state order that is properly authenticated.

You pose a series of questions, which we summarize as follows. First, you ask whether it is a "crime for a person to violate an out-of-state protective order with conduct within the State of…