Three kinds of orders
- An emergency protective order. Police can get one at the scene, often in the middle of the night. It’s short: it ends after five court days or seven calendar days, whichever comes first.
- A criminal protective order. This is the stay-away order the judge usually makes at the first court date in the criminal case. It’s the one that matters for the rest of the case.
- A family court restraining order. The other person can ask a family court for one on their own. It’s a separate case, with its own hearing.
While any of these orders is in effect, you can’t have a gun.
No contact, or peaceful contact
A no-contact order means no calls, texts, social media, or messages through friends, and it can keep you out of your own home. A peaceful-contact order lets you have contact, as long as it stays peaceful.
At the first court date, the judge or the prosecutor will often want an order even when the other person doesn’t. When they don’t want one, I work for no order at all, or at worst a peaceful-contact order. And even when they do, I ask for carve-outs so you can still see your children and the rest of your family. An order to stay away from one person can tangle up many others.
When you’re under two orders at once
A family court order and a criminal order can both be in effect at the same time, and you can violate either one. One getting dismissed doesn’t free you from the other. That surprises a lot of people.
When there’s already a family court order, I usually ask the criminal court to make its order simply follow the family court’s: no extra rules and no extra restrictions. It’s still a second order, but there’s nothing else to keep track of. And if the family court order changes or ends, you don’t need a separate hearing in criminal court to do what you’re now allowed to do.
Getting an order changed or lifted
An order can be changed while the case is open. Usually, what makes that happen is the protected person wanting it changed. But that isn’t always enough. Some judges keep an order the protected person doesn’t want, because they believe the person still needs protection. Convincing the judge takes care, and the right timing.
If the protected person wants the order changed, that’s their choice to make and share. I can document what they want and present it to the court, and they can also tell the DA or the judge themselves. I’ll never ask them to change their account or stop cooperating with anyone.
If the other person reaches out to you
Contact can violate the order even if the other person starts it. The order is on you, not on them.
- Don’t engage. Don’t reply, and don’t meet up, even if they invite you.
- Don’t block them. What they send can matter to your case.
- Save everything: texts, voicemails, emails, call logs. Write down any in-person contact and when it happened.
- Tell me. If something needs a response, I can handle it.
Need to deal with money, property, or your kids? Ask me first. There’s usually a lawful way to handle it, through the court, through lawyers, or through someone the order allows. What counts as violating an order.
Questions
How long does a criminal stay-away order last?
Usually for as long as the criminal case is open, unless the judge changes it. If the case ends in a domestic violence conviction with probation, a protective order is a standard condition of probation. That probation lasts at least three years, and often four. After a conviction, the judge can also make an order lasting up to 10 years.
The other person wants the order gone. Can they just drop it?
Not on their own. Only the judge can change or end a criminal protective order. What they want matters, and I can help get it in front of the judge.
Can I go home?
Not if the order bars contact or orders you to stay away from the home. Ask me about getting it changed, and follow it exactly until it is.