Restraining Orders

USE VERSION #1 IF YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT SHE WANTS TO SEARCH FOR A CIVIL RO - USE VERSION #2 IF IT’S NOT CLEAR:

VERSION #1: IF SEARCHING ONLY FOR CIVIL ROs (LIKE IF THE PERSON SAYS “HOW DO I FIND OUT IF THERE IS A PFA AGAINST SOMEONE?”:
I am not sure if there is a sure fire way to find out whether or not any civil protection orders exist against a person - hopefully a lawyer in your state can let you know for sure about this. Generally, orders of protection are registered in a state registry so that the police can easily pull it up to see if one exists when a victim calls in to report a violation. Perhaps it may be possible that a person can ask his/her local police precinct to check the registry to see if the person/respondent is in there (but I do not know if an officer would be willing to do this). Another way to access the information perhaps may be to go to the courthouse where you think the case was filed, to see if you can request any court records but I don’t know if those records would be open to the public.

You may want to get some advice from a local attorney who may have searched for this information before and may be able to advise you of how to do it in your state. Here is a link to find free and low cost lawyers in your state. [HYPERLINK] Also, your state coalition against domestic violence may have some information on whether or not it’s possible to easily get this information. [HYPERLINK TO STATE ORGS]

VERSION #2 - COVERS CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ROs:
Restraining orders can be issued from civil court (where the victim starts a case) or criminal court (after a conviction for committing a crime against the victim). All orders of protection are usually registered in a state registry so that the police can easily pull it up to see if one exists when a victim calls in to report a violation. Perhaps it may be possible that a person can ask his/her local precinct to check the registry to see if the person/respondent is in there but I do not know if an officer would be willing to do this. Another way to access the information perhaps may be to go to the local courthouse to see if there was a restraining order case filed against the person but I don’t know if those records would be open to the public.

If you think the person was arrested and an order of protection was issued from the criminal court, it may be possible to go to the local criminal court to ask for access to the records to search for the person’s name – criminal records are generally open to the public but I don’t know the procedure for actually accessing them. Also, generally a person is prosecuted in the county where the crime happened, which may not necessarily be the same county where the person lives and so locating the proper criminal court may be a challenge (unless all counties’ records are recorded together). Searching the criminal records may show if someone was convicted of a domestic violence crime but I don’t know if the records would indicate whether a restraining order was issued or not - the criminal clerk may know, perhaps.

You may want to get some advice from a local attorney who may have searched for this information before and may be able to advise you of how to do it in your state. Here is a link to find free and low cost lawyers in your state. [HYPERLINK] Also, your state coalition against domestic violence may have some information on whether or not it’s possible to easily get this information. [HYPERLINK TO STATE ORGS]