Restraining Orders are Serious Matters
Unfortunately, it is easy for a person to file a restraining order against someone. If you have been served with a restraining order, it must be taken seriously. Often you will find out about the action against you when you are served the Petition, temporary order, and notice of hearing. You should never ignore a restraining order request. Instead, you should get information about your rights and options, consul t with a lawyer, and participate in the court process.
Defending Against Restraining Order
If you have been served with a restraining order, you should immediately contact an attorney regarding your rights. Issuance of a restraining order will go on your criminal record, will prevent the ownership and possession of firearms, and may affect other aspects of your life including having to leave the family home or freedom from visiting certain locations. There are time limits to filing a response to a restraining order. You don’t want to miss those time limits.
Temporary Orders
Sometimes the judge doesn’t grant the temporary order so you are not bound by any court orders. If the judge did grant the temporary order, you must comply with the specific court orders including any stay away orders and those related to firearms prohibitions until the court date.
Violating a Temporary Order
Once a restraining order is entered, you can be charged with a crime if the protected party accuses you of violating the order.
Filing A response
The petition will contain the allegations against you. You must file a response to the allegations. If the allegations are false, you can file a general denial to all allegations in your response to the petition.
First Court Date
At your first court date, you are entitled to bring any witnesses and documentary evidence to defend yourself. You can even testify at the hearing. It is your opportunity to tell the judge not to impose the orders against you. On the papers you are served there will be notice of your court date. This date is the date set for the hearing on the allegations made by the moving party.
Continuing the hearing
In most circumstances, the defending party can ask for one continuance at the first hearing to prepare the defense of the case. If a temporary order was granted, the orders will stay in place until the outcome of the re-scheduled hearing.
Contested Hearing
Whether you continue the hearing or proceed with the trial at the first court date, you must be prepared to defend yourself because the contested hearing is where a judge will decide who will win. If you are defending against a restraining order, you must be prepared to present the evidence necessary to win. This includes documentary evidence, police reports, pictures, text messages, social media posts, audio recordings, video clips, and witness testimony. There are rules of evidence that apply at the hearing. That is why hiring an attorney will give you the best chance of winning. Winning is based on the party that presents the most credible admissible evidence.
Hiring an Attorney
You have the right to be represented by an attorney, although in restraining order proceedings, you are not entitled to free counsel or a court-appointed attorney. If you can afford to hire an attorney, hire an attorney. Because of the negative impact of a restraining order on a person’s freedom, gun rights, criminal record, and employment opportunities, hiring an aggressive and experienced restraining order attorney will give you the best opportunity to win in court and prevent the restraining order from issuing.
Consequences of a Restraining Order
For a restrained person, having a restraining order against you can have very serious consequences including not being able to go to certain places or to do certain things, may have to move from home, may not be able to see children, not be able to own a gun, and may affect immigration status.
Violating a Restraining order
If the restrained person violates the restraining order, they may go to jail, or pay a fine, or both.
Settlement Options
In every case there is a legal preference by the court for the parties to work out a settlement agreement prior to trial. Sometimes it is possible when the parties have a mutual interest to resolve the issues without litigation and sometimes a resolution can’t be worked out because of the serious nature of the offenses or because one of the parties is unwilling to work out a settlement agreement.
You don’t have to Represent yourself
Because of the many legal issues in a restraining order case, it is always best to have an attorney handle the case. Our experienced and aggressive efforts usually result in a successful outcome in your case. Call our office today at (916) 939-3900 for a free case evaluation and what we can do for you.