English
Español.RO's go one way - info for respondent
Orders of protection (restraining orders) usually only go “one way”. If a petitioner (the person who asks for an order of protection) gets an order against a respondent (the person the order is against), the order generally only applies to the respondent’s behavior. For example, if the order says “no contact”, only the respondent is ordered not to contact the petitioner, not the other way around. It is the responsibility of the respondent, not the petitioner, to stay within the bounds of the order. In general, unless a judge gives them each their own order of protection or the order says otherwise, a petitioner generally cannot violate his/her own order of protection - - although there may be exceptions to this general rule. In some states, for example, a petitioner can be held criminally responsible for aiding in a violation by, for example, communicating with a respondent who has a “no contact” clause against him/her. I am not sure how STATE handles this.
If a person has an order of protection against him/her, and s/he feels that the petitioner is creating a situation that puts the respondent in danger of violating the order (by contacting the respondent, for example), the respondent may want to talk to a lawyer to find out what to do. The respondent may want to ask the lawyer, for example, whether or not the petitioner’s behavior should be brought to the judge’s attention in some way or whether or not the petitioner’s behavior may be a reason to ask the judge to modify the order in some way or even to dismiss the order. However, respondents should be aware that they could face penalties for violating the order, even if the petitioner initiated the contact. If a respondent tells a judge that s/he had contact with the petitioner even if the petitioner initiated the contact, a respondent may be at risk of the judge punishing the respondent for the contact. If you want legal advice about what you should do in this situation, here is a link for lawyers, some of which may provide free legal services: LINK
