Also known as a protective order, a restraining order can destroy and ruin your life. When served with a restraining order, it can shatter your finances, separate you from the life you have strived to build, and even keep you away from your children. Being served with a restraining order can be devastating, and it is natural to feel sadness, fear, disappointment, and anger all at once.
You could even feel like your life is falling apart and everything is spiraling out of control, but that is not the end of the road for you. With the help of a credible defense attorney, you can challenge a protective order issued against you. The sooner you contact an attorney after being notified of the restraining order issued against you, the higher your chances of securing a favorable outcome.
A Protective Order at a Glance
A protective order is a legal tool that safeguards people from harassment, abuse, threats, or stalking. While they are vital and helpful, especially in domestic violence-related cases, when issued against you, a restraining order can significantly impact your life because of its strict requirements.
Below are four main types of protective orders you ought to know, each of which addresses a specific situation and offers different levels of protection to the petitioner:
- Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
As the name suggests, this restraining order is issued in DV-related cases involving family members or intimate partners.
- Civil Harassment Restraining Order
The court will issue this restraining order in cases involving someone unrelated to you by birth or marriage, including neighbors, acquaintances, and roommates.
- Workplace Violence Restraining Order
As the name implies, this type of restraining order involves employees in a workplace. Employers seek this restraining order to protect workers from workplace-related threats or harassment.
- Dependent or Elder Abuse Restraining Order
The court issues this restraining order specifically to protect seniors (people aged 65 years or older) and dependent adults (aged between 18 and 64) with specific disabilities.
Each restraining order carries legal repercussions, including strict restrictions on firearm ownership, where you can live, and even employment. If the sheriff or anyone above 18 years who is not involved in your case serves you with a protective order, you should act as soon as possible to protect your legal rights. Hiring an attorney should be your first step in challenging the restraining order.
What Should I Do Once a Protective Order is Issued Against Me?
What you do immediately after receiving a protective order issued against you can significantly impact the case outcome. Challenging a restraining order starts with comprehending the allegations you are facing. Here is a brief overview of the crucial steps to take when that happens to you:
- Read and Understand the Order
The court's protective order specifies what you are allowed and not allowed to do. Hence, reading your order carefully is important because violating any of its terms and conditions, even unintentionally, could attract some legal consequences.
- Gather the Necessary Evidence
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is possible to challenge a protective order. Hence, the evidence you will gather once you receive the order will go a long way in helping you challenge it. Remember to document everything you remember about the alleged case, including photos, emails, texts, and eyewitness accounts.
- Avoid Contacting the Petitioner
While it is natural to feel disappointed and angered when a restraining order is issued against you, contacting the petitioner to explain your side of the story or sympathize with him/her is not advisable. Since the restraining order requires you to refrain from contacting the petitioner, any contact or communication could worsen the situation.
- Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney
Like any other legal battle, involving a skilled criminal defense attorney in your case is wise. The attorney you will hire will review the facts of your unique case and help craft strategic legal defenses that can help you secure a desirable outcome.
Temporary Versus Permanent Restraining Orders
While you can challenge a permanent restraining order (PRO), a temporary restraining order (TRO) has limitations, mainly because the law enforcement authorities usually issue it quickly. A TRO offers immediate protection to the petitioner, and your presence in court is often unnecessary for the court to issue this order.
In most cases, you cannot mount a defense against the TRO because of this expedited process. However, you can successfully challenge a permanent restraining order with the help of your attorney by raising your legal defenses at the permanent order hearing.
How to Contest a Restraining Order
Challenging a protective order requires thorough preparation and viable legal defenses. However, if you have an attorney on your side, preparing your legal defenses should not be an issue to worry about. The time you can challenge a restraining order is at the court's hearing regarding the issue. The court will be ready to hear your side of the story during this hearing.
However, there are a few challenges you are likely to face in a restraining order case. One of the challenges is that the restraining order is not your only legal problem. You may have a criminal charge related to the protective orders the petitioner is requesting. However, the protective order hearing will occur before your trial for the underlying charge.
During the protective order hearing, you should be careful what you decide to disclose to the court because the prosecutor will access the records and use your words against you at the trial. Another challenge of the protective order hearing is that the evidence presented against you does not have to meet the standard of proof you would expect at the trial hearing.
During the protective order hearing, the judge must be persuaded that the allegations you are facing necessitate a protective order. Nonetheless, it is possible to challenge the restraining order during this hearing. Below are viable legal defenses that could help challenge a restraining order:
You are a Victim of False Allegations
Sometimes people can misuse restraining orders in divorce and child custody battles, and the court recognizes that. If your attorney can prove that the allegations you are facing are fabricated to gain an advantage over you in a child custody battle, the court can dismiss the restraining order.
Lack of Sufficient Evidence Against You
Most restraining orders are often based on one-sided or limited evidence. Your attorney understands this and will scrutinize the evidence the petitioner has against you to determine whether it is credible. If the petitioner's evidence is not sufficient to prove that you abused, harassed, stalked or threatened him/her, the court could dismiss or reduce your charges.
You Were Acting in Self-Defense
If you acted in self-defense or the defense of others during the alleged incident, the court could accept this defense argument as a valid excuse for your behavior or actions.
You are Not a Threat to the Petitioner
The court can lift or deny the requested restraining order if your criminal defense attorney can provide clear evidence that you are not a threat or danger to the other party or petitioner.
You are Factually Innocent
Arguing that you are factually innocent of the allegations you are facing is also a valid legal defense that convinces the court to lift or deny a restraining order. To support this legal defense, your attorney will provide evidence to help prove your whereabouts when the alleged offense or incident occurred.
Evidence that could work in your favor to back up this legal defense includes credible eyewitness testimonies, timestamps, cellphone records, photos, DNA, and receipts.
What to Expect When Contesting a Protective Order at the Court
Understanding what to anticipate in court is vital when preparing your legal defenses to a protective order. Here is an overview of this legal process:
Your Response to the TRO
When a TRO is issued against you, you should act immediately. You can begin by reading the order keenly to comprehend the allegations you are facing and the restrictions. After that, you should consult with an attorney as soon as possible to help you interpret what you do not understand and offer the necessary legal representation.
File Your Response to the Order
Your criminal defense attorney will help craft a response to this order, highlighting why the order is unnecessary, including evidence that can help support this argument.
Attend the Scheduled Hearing
Like a trial, during the protective order hearing, the petitioner and your attorney will present evidence and arguments before a judge. A protective order hearing allows you to contest the allegations you are facing and provide evidence to show the court why the order is unnecessary. Eyewitnesses' testimonies could help convince the court to deny or lift the restraining order.
The Judge’s Decision
Once the judge listens to the petitioners and your attorneys' evidence and arguments, he/she will issue a judgment on the case. Depending on the available evidence and your attorney's arguments, the court could deny the TRO, extend it, or turn it into a PRO.
Generally speaking, thorough preparation and working with a seasoned criminal defense attorney are key when dealing with restraining order issues. A skilled criminal defense attorney can increase your odds of securing a desirable outcome.
What You Should Avoid When Served With a Protective Order
While being served with a protective order can be confusing and emotional, knowing what to do can make a significant difference in the case. To increase your chances of securing a favorable outcome when that happens, you should avoid any act or behavior that could negatively affect your case. For example, you should avoid:
Ignoring the Protective Order
Even if you believe the protective order is unnecessary in your case, you should never ignore it because breaching any of its requirements could attract criminal charges.
Contacting or Communicating With the Petitioner
A protective order will likely prohibit communication or contact with the petitioner. Hence, contacting the petitioner, even if he/she is your ex-wife, is not wise because it can strengthen his/her case against you and minimize your odds of securing a favorable outcome.
Underestimating the Court-Scheduled Hearing
The scheduled protective order hearing will be your only opportunity to show the court why the order is unnecessary. Hence, overlooking or failing to attend this hearing is not a wise idea. Ensure you prepare for this hearing thoroughly by gathering all the evidence that can work in your favor to secure a favorable outcome.
Failing to Hire an Attorney
You cannot overlook the need for legal representation when dealing with protective order issues. While you can represent yourself in court, doing so could lead to mistakes that could be detrimental to your case. Ensure you hire a licensed, reputable criminal defense attorney with experience representing clients with similar cases.
How Your Attorney Can Help When Contesting a Restraining Order
Hiring a credible attorney is critical when challenging a protective order. Here is how your attorney will help:
He/she Will Evaluate Your Case
Thorough evaluation is key when preparing legal defenses to contest the protective order in court. A seasoned attorney will know the best defenses that will work in your favor to secure a favorable outcome.
He/she Will Offer You Legal Representation in Court
In addition to protecting your rights and being your legal advisor, the attorney you will hire will be your legal voice and representative in court to help convince the court that the protective order is unnecessary.
He/she Will Help You Negotiate a Favorable Outcome
Sometimes, your attorney can help negotiate a favorable outcome without going through the lengthy court process.
Find a Credible Restraining Order Attorney Near Me
If you are facing a restraining order, you should act proactively because the order could significantly affect several aspects of your life. Challenging a protective order requires thorough preparation, understanding the anticipated court process, and thoughtful legal defenses, which your attorney can prepare on your behalf.
At Goldman Flores Restraining Order Law Firm, we have significant experience representing clients facing restraining orders and can assist you, too. We invite you to call us at 213-341-4087 and let our credible criminal defense attorneys walk you through every step of the process to secure a favorable outcome, wherever you are in California.
