Restraining Orders

You said you were arrested for violating a protection order after the petitioner told you it was no longer in effect. While I can’t speak to your specific situation, here is some general information on defending against a violation of a protection order.

Generally, an order of protection is in full effect if it has been served (legally given) to the person who the order is against (respondent). In general, once the respondent is served with an order, the respondent must follow the terms of an order. Protection orders are designed to prohibit a respondent from doing certain things. Generally, it is the respondent who can violate the order, while the the person who got the order (petitioner) generally cannot violate their own order. You can see more information about the effects of an order of protection in STATE on our website.

In general, whether or not the petitioner contacted the defendant first, the respondent could be the one in violation of the order if s/he responds to the contact or tries to contact him/her back. Even if the respondent thinks a protection order has been dismissed, the respondent may still be held responsible for following the order if the order has not been actually dismissed. Do you have any voicemails or text messages where the petitioner says the order is no longer in effect? A judge or jury may be less likely to convict a respondent of violating an order if the respondent can show the petitioner may have “set them up” to violate the order by telling them the order wasn’t in effect. You may want to speak to an attorney in STATE about your options, and how you may best present your case.

When you say you were arrested, were you arrested solely for violating the order, or for something that would have been criminal regardless of the order? Generally, if someone has done something that would be criminal regardless of an order of protection, they may be arrested and charged with the crime. You may want to see our Crimes page for information on some crimes a respondent may commit in STATE. For instance, if someone is arrested for harassment or assault, these things are crimes even when the victim of the crime doesn’t have an order of protection. However, if someone is arrested for something that would not be criminal behavior if an order was not in effect, the person may be able to testify about why they behaved that way. For instance, a judge may consider whether a respondent knew an order was in effect if the respondent contacted someone who is protected by the order.

You may want to talk to a lawyer in STATE about your specific case. Generally, a defendant in a criminal case, such as an order violation for which the person was arrested, may be appointed a defense attorney for the case. We also have free and paid attorneys in STATE on our website. However, I’m not sure if some of these organizations would be able to defend someone in a criminal case. You would need to speak to the organization or attorney about this.