Restraining Orders

I cannot specifically tell you whether or not getting a restraining order against someone would be a violation of his/her probation. It may depend on the specific terms of a person’s probation.

In general, there could be many ways that a person could violate his/her probation. Often, terms of probation may prohibit different things, such as:

• getting arrested for or convicted of a crime,
• failing a court-ordered drug test,
• using drugs or alcohol,
• not going to a specific program that s/he was ordered to go to (such as anger management or drug treatment), etc.

Terms of probation may be different for specific people depending on the crime they committed or other personal factors.

However, in some situations, the terms of probation or parole may be more specific, especially if the original conviction was for domestic violence. For example, the probation could prohibit contact with the victim of the original crime or prohibit committing any criminal acts against the victim (harassment, stalking, etc.) even if s/he is not arrested for those acts. If these types of acts are prohibited in a person’s probation, and a petition for a protection order alleges certain “prohibited” acts, it’s possible that if the probation officer is informed about it, s/he may say that the probation was violated. You may want to get some legal advice about your specific situation to know for sure.

In situations where the probation terms do not include a rule against domestic violence or violence against a specific person, I am not sure if there may be some other reason that a probation officer would believe the probation was violated just based on the petition being filed or upon the order being granted. Again, a lawyer may be able to offer some insight about this based on what commonly happens in your state. Alternatively, perhaps the Department of Probation/Parole may be able to answer these questions if you decide to contact them.