Abuse is demeaning, causes emotional distress and low self-esteem, and can result in physical harm and death. It can also cause trauma and repeat abuse, especially by the victims. Fortunately, California laws have measures in place to protect victims of abuse from repeat violence through the issuance of restraining orders. They can seek legal protection from their abuser the moment they show signs of abuse or after the first instance of abuse. A restraining order will keep the abuser away from the victim and the victim’s loved ones for a specified time or until a judge hears and determines their case.
However, navigating the legal processes involved when seeking or handling a Restraining Order Renewals is difficult without legal assistance. The Los Angeles team at Goldman Flores | Restraining Order Law Firm can help you, whether you are the victim or alleged abuser. We understand how important protecting yourself, your loved ones, and your rights is. Thus, we will act swiftly and guide you through the legal processes. We will also advise you on your rights and options to ensure you go through all legal processes successfully.
An Overview of Restraining Order Renewals
Protective and restraining orders are critical tools for abuse victims. You can obtain them through the California court system. These tools are designed to protect victims of abuse and other vulnerable individuals from harm, violence, and abuse. Typically, these orders are civil court injunctions that an individual can petition from a court.
Criminal court judges issue restraining orders on behalf of individuals or victims of abuse. The applicant (primarily a law enforcement officer) makes this request on a victim’s behalf to compel an abuser to stop a particular behavior or behave in a specific manner. Typically, a restraining order is issued when an independent person requests a court to protect a particular individual or individual from an abuser.
You can obtain a restraining order after the first abuse or after a series of abuse incidents. However, you must specify the kind of abuse you face and the protection you need for a judge to issue a practical order.
Cases of repeat violence are on the rise in California. Thus, there is a need for courts to issue restraining orders for repeat cases to stop the violence and protect victims from further harm. Repeat violence occurs when there is a cycle of violence by the defendant toward a particular victim. The pattern can comprise two or more occurrences of abuse or violent conduct against a victim or the victim’s loved ones. The law recognizes that some types of violence or abuse follow a particular pattern or are cyclical. This type of violence, also called a cycle of abuse, is common among people who have experienced violence or abuse from an early age.
For example, a person who suffered abuse or violence when they were young will likely inflict violence or abuse on another person in adulthood. The main problem with repeat violence is that it worsens from one incident to the next. An abuser’s behavior escalates each time they inflict violence or abuse. For example, it can start with empty threats and then more intense threats where the victim fears for their lives. Eventually, it escalates into physical abuse and sometimes death. Thus, a repetition of abuse or violence is dangerous, as it almost always worsens into a graver crime.
Violence and Abuse Recidivism in Domestic Situations
Recidivism is the repeated process or pattern when violence escalates from minor threats to physical abuse and death. It is prevalent in domestic situations. People who report domestic violence cases will always explain how it all started before it escalated into a more dangerous situation. Sadly, recidivism is prevalent because violent and abusive people tend to harm the people closely related to them, including their spouses, children, siblings, and parents. Domestic abuse takes all forms, including physical, emotional, mental, social, and financial.
Domestic violence is dangerous because it spreads quickly to other environments, especially if abused children or children who have witnessed violence grow to mingle with other people. They quickly become perpetrators or victims of abuse or violence. Victims of abuse can grow to mimic the behavior of their abuser and sometimes even exceed the violence of their abuser. Other victims can also fall into the traps of further abuse by different people, creating an unending pattern.
Thus, repeat violence and cycles of abuse must be taken very seriously to prevent further mistreatment towards and by victims of abuse. When a child experiences abuse or witnesses violence, it creates a traumatic experience in their mind. Remember that the brains of minors are yet to develop fully. Thus, persistent abuse will likely become a traumatic experience in their mind that can affect their behavior as adults. It could also shape how they socialize with others or treat their loved ones as adults. Some teenagers resort to unhealthy coping strategies like alcohol and drug use and abuse, which damage their minds further.
Fortunately, there are legal measures to stop violence before it escalates. Repeat abuse restraining orders can prevent incidences of violence and abuse to protect the victims and their loved ones from physical, mental, and emotional harm. A victim of abuse can report the matter to the police for further assistance. Once the restraining order is in effect, your abuser will face prosecution once they violate the terms of the order.
Grounds for Issuing Restraining Order Renewals
California criminal court judges issue various kinds of protective or restraining orders. Most of these orders aim to stop repeat violence, mainly if the abusive behavior or violence occurred at least twice. Some jurisdictions require the violence or abuse to have happened at least twice within six months for the judge to issue a restraining order. Although the requirements vary from one jurisdiction to another, most restraining orders focus on cyclical violence or recidivism.
However, these requirements do not specify the type of violent or abusive behavior that judges consider suitable grounds for obtaining a restraining order. The judge will consider your request as long as you can demonstrate that the defendant’s behavior puts you in reasonable fear for your life or the lives of your loved ones or you suffered physical, emotional, or mental harm as a result of the violence or abuse. Here are some of the reasonable grounds you can use to obtain a restraining order for repeat violence:
Criminal Threats
A person can obtain a restraining order against you if you threaten them (or issue criminal threats against them). Under PC 422, a criminal threat occurs when you cause another person to experience fear for their safety or the safety of their loved one. It is a wobbler offense, meaning that prosecutors charge it as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the details of the case. You could be guilty of issuing criminal threats even if you do not plan to carry the threat out. What matters is that you threatened another person, and your actions caused them to fear for their safety.
Your victim of criminal threats can file for a restraining order based on your utterances or behavior. In most cases, threats escalate into physical abuse. Hence, there is a need for the court to protect the victim and their loved ones from harm.
Stalking
You can receive a restraining order for stalking another person. Stalking occurs when you follow or watch another person in a manner that causes them to fear for their safety or the safety of their loved one. It is a grave offense under PC 646.9 and is a critical part of most repeat violence cases. Some stalking incidents have some bit of sexual abuse in them and are almost always accompanied by violence.
Internet Bullying or Cyberstalking
This mainly entails stalking or criminal threats on social media or the internet. The impact of cyberbullying is as grave as the impact of physical stalking and threats. You can receive a restraining order without necessarily making threatening physical contact with another person or occupying the same space with them. The order will stop you from any online and offline activity that puts the victim at risk of harm.
Intimidation or Menace
Judges can also issue a restraining order against anyone who intimidates or menaces a victim. According to PC 136.1, it is a crime to threaten a person for seeking justice or reporting abusive or violent behavior. The behavior covered here includes making a person feel like a violent outburst or attack is imminent. A person can obtain a restraining order against you for threatening or intimidating them, their friends, or family. The threats or intimidation must be credible and probable. This means that you must have the ability to carry out the threat.
Intimidation is mainly experienced in domestic situations. They start mildly and escalate over time, creating a pattern that results in graver violence. Sometimes, intimidation becomes so much to the point that the victim is afraid of reporting or testifying against their abuser.
Physical Assault or Abuse
Any type of physical violence is a solid ground for obtaining a restraining order. A victim of assault (under PC 240) or battery (under PC 242) can seek a court’s help in ensuring their safety or the safety of their loved ones. The abuse or assault does not necessarily have to result in a physical injury or death for the judge to issue a restraining order against you. If there is evidence of bodily harm, the court can take further action against you by convicting you of a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the severity of the injury.
Property Destruction
Most severe cases of abuse or violence start with property destruction. If a person witnesses more than two incidences of destruction, they are encouraged to seek the court’s protection before the matter escalates into physical abuse or death. You could have destroyed a victim’s property to intimidate or frighten them. Even without bodily harm, they can obtain a restraining order against you.
Sexual Abuse
Criminal court judges also issue restraining orders on the grounds of sexual abuse. Like many kinds of abuse, sexual abuse starts with demeaning words, stalking, and threats or harassment. Then, it escalates into more profound abuse that threatens the safety of a person or the people around them.
How Restraining Order Renewals Orders Work
A person experiencing repeat violence or abuse can report the matter to the police at any time of the day or night. If the person is afraid of retaliation or further violence from the perpetrator, the responding officer can help them obtain a restraining order. The order will detail the abuse or violence and how the perpetrator must behave or not behave towards the victim. It will also detail what will likely happen to the perpetrator if they violate the order.
Law enforcement officers are responsible for enforcing restraining and protective orders. Thus, once an order is issued against you, the police will remain watchful to ensure you abide by the terms and conditions of the restraining order. If, at any given time, you violate one or more provisions of the order, the police will arrest and charge you with violating a court order under PC 166 or for violating a restraining or protective order under PC 273.6. PC 166 is a broader crime that can be used in several situations, and PC 273.6 is a specific law against violating a restraining order.
Violating a restraining order or being in contempt of a court are not charges you should take lightly because they carry severe consequences. Thus, it is in your best interests to abide by the order as you prepare to defend yourself against any charges the alleged victim will have filed in court. If you violate multiple court orders, the judge will treat each violation as a separate offense. The results could be a lengthy prison or jail sentence and a hefty court fine. The effects of multiple violations can also pile up, leaving you facing grave felony charges.
If you face charges for repeat violence and additional charges for violating a restraining order, the consequences will be grave. The judge will consider the facts of your case and the exact violation you committed to determine the suitable penalty. Suppose the prosecutor can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you maliciously and willfully ignored or disobeyed a court order several times. In that case, the court will handle you like a repeat offender. This can result in an enhanced penalty, whereby the judge increases your prison sentence by several years.
The California justice system considers repeat offenders more dangerous than regular offenders. In addition to an enhanced penalty, you could receive other life-changing penalties. Also, the prosecutor will charge you differently from a regular offender. For example, if you face a wobbler offense, the prosecutor will file felony charges immediately and fight for the harshest penalties during sentencing. The designation as a repeat or habitual offender will follow you for life, such that any arrest in the future will be considered a repeat of the cycle of abuse or violence.
Thus, violating a repeat abuse restraining order will not be treated like a regular offense. The prosecutor will file felony charges immediately, punishable by a minimum of three years in prison. Remember that this charge will be additional to the other charges you will face for abuse or violence.
The Three Strikes Law For Repeat Violence Offenders
Violating a repeat abuse restraining order results in life-changing consequences. In addition to an enhanced sentence for the underlying charges and a heftier court fine, you could receive a strike under the California Three Strikes Law. This law provides an alternative sentencing for defendants who commit grave felonies. There are different sentencing guidelines for first, second, and subsequent strikers.
The Three Strikes law was designed mainly to prevent repeat recidivism and violence. Under this law, a particular felony conviction can result in a graver punishment than a regular one. If you are designated as a repeat offender under the law, you will likely face felony charges. The first felony offense will be punished according to the law, but you will receive a strike in your criminal record.
If you commit another felony and receive a second strike on your record, the judge will sentence you to double the penalties provided for the offense under the law. If you qualify for probation, you must serve part of your sentence in prison, regardless of your good behavior.
If you commit a third felony and receive a third strike in your record, the judge will sentence you to prison for 25 years or life. This means that if you repeatedly engage in abuse or violence, you can accrue many felony convictions for violence that could cause you to spend the rest of your life in prison. If you have a third strike, your chances of obtaining parole are usually slim.
Types of Restraining Order Renewals
California criminal courts issue three types of restraining orders against repeat violent offenders. These types are as follows:
Emergency Protective Orders
Law enforcement officers usually request emergency protective orders on behalf of abuse victims. When the police respond to a domestic violence call, they must take action to stop the abuse or retaliation. They can start by separating the alleged abuser from the victim and assisting the victim in obtaining a court’s protection against their abuser. The domestic violence call is usually a probable cause to protect the alleged victim. It also forms the basis for obtaining the protective order.
Emergency protective orders are available around the clock. Judges who are usually on call issue them through emergency responding officers. They are in effect immediately after issuance, meaning that you can face charges for violating a restraining order if you go against it within a few minutes of its issuance.
However, EPOs only remain in effect for a week or until the judge hears and determines the underlying abuse or violence case. If a victim requires further protection from you, they will petition the court for a different restraining order to protect them for an extended period.
Temporary Restraining Orders
This is a type of restraining order a victim of abuse or violence can apply for to protect themselves from their abuser for a more extended period. A victim can apply for a TRO after the expiration of an EPO if they need further protection from abuse.
Some abuse and violence cases cannot be resolved. If your case drags on for weeks or months, your victim will need further protection before the resolution of your case. The TRO will contain the period within which it will be in effect and what you can and cannot do.
Judges issue TROs in a closed hearing without the presence of a jury. The applicant and the defendant must be present in this hearing. Since it is not a criminal hearing, the burden of proof is relatively low. The main requirement is for the victim to demonstrate a cycle of violence or abuse by the defendant and how the pattern affects their emotional, physical, and mental well-being. The TRo can remain in effect for a month or so.
Permanent Restraining Orders
These offer protection for a prolonged period. Judges issue PROs to victims of abuse who need a more permanent solution to stay safe from their abusers. Victims can apply for a PRO serving them for three to five years. Some PROs remain in effect even for ten years.
Find a Competent Restraining Order Attorney Near Me
If you are a victim of repeat abuse or violence, you can apply for a restraining order against your abuser to protect yourself or your loved ones. At Goldman Flores | Restraining Order Law Firm, we understand how different repeat abuse restraining orders work. Thus, we will help you through the complex legal processes and ensure your safety.
We also assist defendants facing repeat abuse restraining orders. We can help you understand what the order entails, your limitations, and how to avoid violating it. We can also fight alongside you for a favorable resolution of your case.
Call us at 213-341-4087 if you have questions or concerns about a repeat abuse restraining order in Los Angeles. Our skilled and experienced attorneys will answer your questions and assist you through all legal processes until you are happy with your case’s outcome.
