In California, if you are a victim of violence, your legal path to safety depends entirely on your relationship with the perpetrator. Although both civil harassment and domestic violence restraining orders offer protections, including stay-away and gun restrictions, they are regulated by different California Code sections and have different evidentiary standards. Making a clerical mistake by filing the wrong petition may lead to the dismissal of you and your case by a judge at a time when it is needed the most.
A domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) is specific to individuals who have close or intimate relationships with the abuser and has a lesser burden of proof. On the other hand, the civil harassment restraining order (CHRO) applies to neighbors, colleagues, and acquaintances but involves a much higher standard of clear and convincing evidence. This guide distinguishes the legal differences between these two orders so you can pursue the appropriate protective order for your situation.
The Relationship Threshold Is the Major Deciding Factor
The key distinction between a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) and a civil harassment restraining order (CHRO) is your relationship with the individual that you are seeking protection against. California law establishes a strict hierarchy requiring you to petition a specific court based on your social or biological relationship with the other party.
When you present the wrong petition, you risk being dismissed on the spot by the judge, who might lack the jurisdiction to hear your case on the wrong code. Before you ever step into a courtroom, you have to determine where your relationship falls.
Who is Eligible for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO)?
To be eligible to receive a DVRO, you must have a so-called protected relationship with the respondent. This classification is far more limited than most individuals think, and the Family Code specifically controls it. You belong in family court if the individual you are restraining is your:
- Current or former spouse
- Registered domestic partner
- Current or former dating partner
- Co-parents — This includes any person with whom you share a biological or adopted child, regardless of your past romantic status.
- Cohabitat — This includes any person you live or have lived with in a romantic or family-like context.
- Close blood relatives or relatives by marriage — For example, parents, children, siblings, and grandparents.
The court considers such relationships high-stakes, and that is why the Domestic Violence Prevention Act grants judges increased powers in such cases.
Who is Eligible for a Civil Harassment Restraining Order (CHRO)?
If your relations with the other party fail to correspond with the provisions of the Family Code, you will have to apply for a CHRO in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure. This protection is applied to all the other people in your life who may harm or distress you. You must seek a CHRO if you are harassed by a neighbor who is living next to you but with whom you have never been romantically involved.
This is the appropriate legal action to take if a colleague or friend is threatening you. Civil harassment also encompasses distant family members that do not qualify as close family as defined by the DVPA, like cousins, aunts, uncles, or nieces and nephews. Even unfamiliar people or individuals that you have met once or twice fall into this category. The CHRO functions as the jack-of-all-trades to the masses, but the DVRO is a professional instrument for intimate and family disputes.
Differences in the Burden of Proof
It is upon you to prove in court that the abuse or harassment was real to seek a permanent restraining order. However, the burden of proof you need to meet varies depending on whether you are in family or civil court. This is the greatest legal obstacle you are going to experience, as the standard of proof indicates how sure the judge is before they can take away the civil liberties of the respondent, including the right to own a gun.
Burden of Proof in Domestic Violence Cases
The lower standard of proof that is available to you in a domestic violence case is the preponderance of the evidence. To win your case, you must demonstrate to the judge that it is more probable than not that the abuse occurred.
If the judge feels that there is a 51% likelihood that your assertions are correct, they are legally entitled to award the restraining order. This reduced threshold is because the California legislature is more concerned with the safety of the victims in intimate relationships where violence is likely to be intensified behind closed doors with few witnesses.
Preponderance of the Evidence in Civil Harassment Cases
On the other hand, a civil harassment case involves a much higher standard, which is known as "clear and convincing evidence." This implies that you have to provide evidence that is clear, explicit, and unambiguous so that it leaves no substantial doubt in the mind of the judge. The judge should be sure that the harassment occurred and is going to occur.
Since you are frequently in need of security against an outsider or a neighbor, the law must have a greater degree of certainty so that the law will not become a weapon in minor squabbles. A domestic violence hearing may not demand as strong a paper trail as a civil harassment hearing, so a police report, videotape, or several witness statements may be necessary to satisfy such a high legal standard.
Differences in Defined Conducts
DVRO and CHRO are two legal paths that have differences, like the behavior that causes the judge to intervene. You should be ready to classify the actions of the other party in the right manner so that they can fit the special legal definitions of either abuse or harassment.
Single Acts in Domestic Violence Cases
In the domestic violence situation, the meaning of abuse is wide and has been extended in recent years to cover non-physical activities. It is possible to obtain a DVRO on a single occasion of physical violence, but it is also possible to obtain one based on coercive control. This involves acts such as isolating you from friends, controlling your access to money, or tracking your movements.
According to the California Family Code, domestic violence may be any action that disrupts the peace of the other party. To prove a pattern, you do not always have to demonstrate a single serious threat or even a single physical fight to justify a long-term protective order.
A Pattern of Behavior in Civil Harassment Cases
The civil harassment law is far stricter in terms of the time and frequency of the action. To establish a CHRO, you usually need to demonstrate a knowing and willful course of conduct. This implies that you have to demonstrate a sequence of behaviors over some time, however minimal, which demonstrates a behavioral pattern. One exasperating phone call or a single offensive comment by a neighbor is not likely to be enough.
According to the law, harassment is described as any kind of conduct that is of no legitimate purpose and that would result in a state of significant emotional distress to a reasonable person. The only exemption to the rule of conduct in civil harassment cases is if the respondent has engaged in an act of unlawful violence or has made a credible threat of violence.
When the neighbor actually strikes you or even states that they are going to kill you, then one incident can be sufficient. However, in the case of stalking or general harassment, you should be prepared to record a consistent pattern of unwanted actions, which the judge can easily trace as a campaign against your peace of mind.
Differences in Financial Implications
Your financial status could be a viable consideration in determining how to proceed, but the legislation tries to ensure that safety is affordable to all, regardless of income. You will never pay a court filing fee when you are filing a DVRO. California has required access to domestic violence protection to be free to all petitioners.
These are the first application, the provisional order, and the final permanent order. Moreover, when the judge grants the DVRO, then they are at liberty to make the restrained individual pay your attorney fees if you have employed an attorney to defend you. This is usually determined by the relative capacity of the parties to pay, so that an abuser cannot use their financial superiority to make you not seek legal advice.
Contrastingly, a CHRO does not necessitate a filing fee, which generally is between $435 and $450, depending on the county. Although this is a serious limitation, there are a few exceptions that you need to know. If your petition is founded on stalking, any credible threat of violence, or actual violence, the court will waive the filing fee altogether.
Also, if you are a low-income person, you may request a waiver of the fee due to your financial hardship. The prevailing party rule on attorneys' fees is one of the peculiarities of civil harassment cases. During a CHRO hearing, the judge may direct the party that loses to cover the legal expenses of the winning party. This law can be both good and bad; if your petition is rejected and the judge finds out that this petition was filed in bad faith or that it is not material, they may direct you to pay the legal expenses of the other party.
Differences in Available Relief
The family court has a much greater scope of the orders a judge is allowed to sign as compared to the civil court. You need to think about what you really need to be safe. Both orders can do that if you just need a person to keep at least 100 yards' distance between them and you and your house. A CHRO might not be adequate, though, when the individual you are ordering to stay away is so deeply involved in your life.
The judge is allowed to grant move-out or kick-out orders in a domestic violence case. If you live with your abuser, the judge can make them move out, even when they are the sole person on the lease or mortgage. The immediate safety and housing stability are the priority of the court.
In addition to that, the judge may issue orders related to child custody and visitation so that your children are safe, and yet there is a legal framework of child care. The judge may also direct the restrained individual to pay temporary child support or spousal support, change joint cell phone accounts to your name, and even award you exclusive use of a joint vehicle. These orders are aimed at untangling a domestic relationship and giving you the means of surviving without the abuser.
Most of this power is absent in a judge in a civil harassment case. In the CHRO case, the judge cannot usually direct an individual to vacate their house, even when they are your roommate or in the same apartment block. The solutions are virtually restricted to staying away and conducting orders.
The judge may instruct a neighbor not to refer to you, not to come within five yards of you in the hallway of your building, and not to write about you online. However, they cannot decide about your children, they cannot command anyone to pay you to support you, and they cannot alter your living conditions. You should understand that a CHRO is a shield that is intended to keep one at bay. Conversely, a DVRO is a holistic toolbox that is aimed at dealing with all the facets of a broken and dangerous domestic relationship.
Differences in Duration and Renewal
Other forms of restraining orders usually start with a temporary restraining order (TRO) that is usually 21 to 25 days until your next court appearance. After the hearing, the judge can grant a "Permanent Restraining Order” (PRO). Although the name suggests it, these orders are not necessarily permanent in nature, and the rules of extending them vary between the two codes. You should remain alert to the date your order expires so that you do not leave any loopholes in your legal cover.
A DVRO can last up to 5 years. When that five-year period comes closer to lapsing, you have the right to request the court to renew the order. One of the best features of the DVRO is the ability to renew it in five years or indefinitely.
Above all, to renew a DVRO, you do not have to demonstrate that your partner has abused you since the date of the signing of the initial order. It is just necessary to prove that you still have a reasonable apprehension that abuse is possible if the order expires. The court recognizes that the existence of the order could be the sole action that could keep the peace, and they usually think of making this protection permanent so that the abuser would not come back into your life.
A CHRO is also normally granted for not exceeding five years. The renewal process is, however, a little different. Although you can renew a CHRO for another five years, the law has not taken the same approach as the Family Code to give a permanent renewal. You have to submit your renewal request before the original order has expired, and you have to be ready to demonstrate to the judge that the likelihood of harassment reoccurring exists should the order be lifted.
Since such orders usually include neighbors or colleagues, the judge will examine the situation to see whether the conditions have changed, for example, whether one of you has relocated or switched occupation, to decide whether the legal protection is still required. Always make sure to contact your attorney at least three months prior to your order going out of time to start the renewal process.
Differences in Violation Consequences
Once a judge signs a restraining order, it is registered in a statewide computer system known as the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS). This enables a police officer in any state to check the order in real-time. You need to be aware that any breach of any restraining order is a crime in California Penal Code Section 273.6. However, the harshness of the charges may be different based on the nature of the order and the history of the restrained individual.
When an individual breaches a CHRO, they are usually convicted of a misdemeanor. It may lead to a maximum of one year in county jail and huge fines. Whether they saw the act being violated or not, the police have the right to make an immediate arrest, provided that they have probable cause to suspect that the order was not followed.
Violation of a DVRO is assigned even more seriousness and is commonly known as a wobbler. This implies that the prosecutor can discreetly prosecute the violation as either a misdemeanor or a felony. When the violation is physical, or the individual has a history of violating a protective order, then they are far more likely to be charged with a felony.
A felony offense may result in a sentence of several years in a state prison. Moreover, in domestic violence matters, the court may impose a condition of probation to compel the restrained individual to undergo a 52-week batterer intervention program. Breaching a DVRO is regarded by the law as an overt defiance of the attempts by a court to prevent domestic violence, which leads to harsher prosecution and more severe penalties than most civil harassment cases.
Locate a Competent Restraining Order Attorney Near Me
Navigating the divide between civil harassment and domestic violence laws requires an understanding of California's complex legal statutes. Whether it is a victim who needs to be at a safe place or a person who has been served with a petition, the repercussions of such proceedings will affect your life over the next few years.
The variance in the evidentiary standards, the relief, and the enforcement in the long run implies that you cannot afford a mistake during filing or hearing. Take action immediately to protect your rights and use a suitable legal framework for your special situation.
At Goldman Flores Restraining Order Law Firm, we have been very successful in the field of restraining order litigation since we have been able to obtain emergency move-out orders and defend against false allegations. We are willing to advocate on behalf of clients in Los Angeles with authoritative zeal. Today, call our office at 213-341-4087 and schedule an appointment to talk to our capable restraining order attorney.
