Restraining Orders

Since I am not certain whether or not you have a civil order or a criminal order, here is information about both, just in case. To clarify, a civil order is one that you would have applied for in court by filing a petition yourself to get it. A criminal order would have been issued by a criminal court after an arrest - and usually, the victim of the crime isn’t present in court and may not even specifically request the order.

FOR CIVIL ORDERS:

Although I cannot speak to the specific situation that you are asking about, I can tell you that in general, civil restraining orders usually only go “one way.” This means that the order generally only applies to the respondent’s (abuser’s) behavior, not the petitioner’s (victim’s). For example, if the order says “no contact,” generally, only the respondent is ordered not to contact the victim, not the other way around. It is generally the responsibility of the respondent, not the petitioner, to stay within the bounds of the order. A petitioner generally cannot violate his or his/her own civil order of protection, although there are exceptions to this general rule – for example, in Iowa, the petition for a protective order says that a petitioner “could be arrested and jailed for aiding and abetting Defendant’s violation of the Protective Order.”

However, even if a petitioner’s behavior wouldn’t “violate” or “cancel” the order (make it void), there may be negative results of ignoring the order. Disregarding the terms of the order may make it harder for the petitioner to get any future violations of the order to be taken seriously by police and prosecutors. There may also be later issues in court if a petitioner has a temporary order and s/he plans on returning to court to get a final order (if that is the procedure in the petitioner’s state). The respondent may be able to use the petitioner’s behavior against him/her in court, and the judge may deny the petitioner the final order.

The respondent or his attorney may use the fact that a victim is in contact with a respondent to the respondent’s advantage. They may try to prove that the petitioner is not in fear of the respondent because the two have been in contact. They may even use the contact to prove that the petitioner falsely filed for an order. It is, therefore, generally important for a petitioner to avoid this contact if possible. If a petitioner has an attorney, it is important for a petitioner to tell his/her attorney about any and all contact prior to being in court. Then the attorney is prepared to handle it if this comes up in court. If you want legal advice, here is a link for lawyers, some of which may be free or low-cost: LINK TO LAWYERS.

Here is more information about restraining orders in [STATE] in case it is useful.[HYPERLINK]

FOR CRIMINAL ORDERS

In general, criminal restraining orders also usually only go “one way,” like civil orders. This means that the order generally only applies to the defendant’s behavior, but not to the victim’s. Even if a victim is the one to contact the abuser, the abuser may still be arrested for violating the protection order if s/he is in contact with the victim or violates any other terms of the order. A victim generally cannot violate his or his/her own order of protection, although, again, there may be exceptions to this general rule.

Also, like in a civil case, sometimes a defense attorney may use the fact that a victim is in contact with a defendant. They may use the contact prove that the victim is not in fear of the defendant, or for another similar purpose.

I am not sure if the prosecutor’s office has any sort of victim-witness program. If so, perhaps someone in that program or a local legal services lawyer can let you know what the possible outcome could be in your county/state if a victim who has an order has talked to the defendant. We have some Crime Victims’ Programs listed on our website in case you want to reach out to any to ask. Here is information for crime victims in your state as well, on our Crimes page. [LINK]

Again, since I am not specifically familiar with your state’s laws and procedures, you might want to talk to a lawyer in your state for advice if you are concerned at all about what consequences there can be to you if you make contact. Here’s that link for Finding a Lawyer, [LINK] some of which may be free or low-cost if you qualify.

In either case, whether the order is civil or criminal, the respondent/defendant on the order could be subject to arrest for violating an order, even if the victim started the contact. It could also be possible, however, that the police or the district attorney refuse to pursue a criminal case against a respondent when the violation came, in part, from the victim’s initiating contact. I can’t say for sure what would happen in your case.

I’d like to let you know that our website has some Safety Tips on things you can do to try to stay safe.

You might also want to contact an advocate at your local domestic violence organization for help in creating a safety plan that works for you. Safety planning is thinking of what you can do to keep yourself as safe as possible. We have some tips to get you started at the link above, but you might also want to speak with an advocate at your local domestic violence organization, who can help you design a personalized plan. You can find an advocate on our Local Programs page. [LINK]