Restraining Orders

[IF WRITER SAYS THAT THE PERSON WHO GOT THE RO IS ACTUALLY THE ABUSER AND GOT IT ON FALSE CLAIMS, CAN ADD THIS LINE: I am sorry to hear that your [HUSBAND, BOYFRIEND, ETC] was able to get a final order of protection against you based on allegations that you indicate are untrue.]

During the time that there is a temporary or permanent order in place, one idea that people may consider is to start keeping a daily log or calendar of where they are each day in case the petitioner tries to falsely report to the police that the respondent violated the order. For instance, if the petitioner calls the police and says that last Thursday, the respondent came to his/her home at 1 pm, but the respondent has recorded in his/her daily planner that s/he was at work or at a doctor’s appointment, for example, perhaps this information may be helpful to prove that the respondent didn’t commit the violation that was alleged. Also, while there is an order in effect, it is up to the respondent to obey the order. For example, if the order tells the respondent to stay away from the petitioner’s house, the respondent could still be violating the order and be subject to arrest if the respondent goes to the petitioner’s house even if s/he invites him/her over there.

If you believe that the judge made an error when granting this order to your [HUSBAND, BOYFRIEND, ETC], you may want to talk to a lawyer to see about the possibility of filing an appeal of the order. Here is a link for lawyers, free and paid: LINK and here is some general information about filing appeals.