Restraining Orders

I am assuming that you are asking about a civil restraining order that you filed, as opposed to one that was issued by the criminal court after an arrest. If I am wrong, please let me know.

I am not sure if you have a temporary order or a final order, so I will address both in this email. [NOTE TO STUDENT - IF YOU KNOW WHICH ONE SHE HAS, YOU CAN DELETE PRIOR SENTENCE AND ONLY INCLUDE THE RELEVANT PARAGRAPHS, EITHER TEMPORARY OR FINAL AND THE ONES FOR “EITHER TEMPORARY OR FINAL”] [TEMPORARY ORDER PARAGRAPH:]

A temporary order of protection generally lasts for a limited amount of time. As you can see from our website, temporary orders in STATE generally last for up to [FILL IN AND LINK TO THE QU CALLED “WHAT TYPE OF ROs ARE THERE? HOW LONG DO THEY LAST?”] In most states, the order may just expire if the petitioner does not return to court on his/her next court date. In other states, a person may be able to notify the court ahead of time that s/he would like to drop the order or may have to file paperwork to ask to dismiss the motion.

[STUDENT: SEE IF WE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT DROPPING ROs. IF SO, FILL IN AND LINK TO IT. IF NOT, INCLUDE THIS SENTENCE:] I cannot say for sure what the proper procedure is in your state, but you may be able to find out from the court clerk (a court official). You can find courthouse contact information for STATE on our website. [HYPERLINK] [ADD THIS SENTENCE IF SHE ASKS IF SHE CAN JUST NOT SHOW UP: The court clerk or a lawyer may be able to confirm whether or not am order would be dropped if you didn’t show up on the court date, or what else may happen.

[TEMPORARY ORDER PARAGRAPH:] One thing to note is that in some states, there may be possible consequences for not showing up to court without notifying the court and the other parties in advance. These consequences could generally include having to pay the respondent’s court fees and attorney fees if the respondent asks the judge to order this, for instance. There may possibly be other effects on a custody/visitation case or immigration proceedings. In addition, courts often combine (consolidate) petitions, and a judge may hear multiple cases together. Therefore, a petitioner who does not show up to court may risk losing by default on any other pending cases and getting judgments issued against them. I do not know if you have any other cases also going on at the same time or not. In these cases, a petitioner may wish to show up to court and request that the order be dropped if that’s what they want. If you would like to think through any consequences that may arise in your particular situation, you may want to talk to a lawyer for advice. You can find free and paid lawyers in STATE on our website. [HYPERLINK]

[TEMPORARY ORDER] If a petitioner who wants to drop an order has their next court date scheduled far away, and is hoping to drop the order earlier than that date, they may generally be able to ask the court clerk if there is a way to drop the order before the court date or get an earlier court date. You may want to contact your local court clerk about this.

[THIS IS INFO ON FINAL ORDERS - DELETE IT IF SHE SAYS IT’S A TEMPORARY ORDER]: Although I cannot speak to your specific situation, if a petitioner already had a full hearing and they have a final protective order, a petitioner generally has to return to court and file legal papers to ask that the order be dismissed. They may have to explain to the judge why they do not want protection anymore, and the judge will decide whether or not to drop it. Again, I cannot speak to how this process is done in your state in particular, though.

[EITHER TEMPORARY OR FINAL] Also, if a person is also involved in a custody case, divorce case, or immigration case, or if a future case might be possible, they may want to consult with a lawyer before dropping the protection order to discuss whether or not removing the protection order could negatively affect their other cases in any way.

[EITHER TEMPORARY OR FINAL] One thing to consider is that instead of dropping the protective order, a petitioner may petition to modify the order to change what the order says. They may ask the judge to take away some parts of the order (such as the no contact terms), but keep other parts in (such as the do not abuse terms and stay away terms). Some people who want to start some sort of couples counseling, for example, may find this to be a good option. A local domestic violence organization can help you figure out what balance is right for you if you think this may be a better solution for you. You can find a local domestic violence program on our website. [HYPERLINK]

[EITHER TEMPORARY OR FINAL] If you are thinking of dropping the order because the respondent has not been bothering you lately, you may want to consider that some abusers may not bother the petitioner out of fear of violating the order and being arrested. Many abusers continue to abuse their partners even after they’ve “promised not to” or after they swear that they have “changed.” Once a petitioner gets rid of a protection order, they will generally lose all of the protection that they had with the order. It may even be a strike against them if they need another protection order in the future. For example, they may not be taken as seriously by the judge.

[EITHER TEMPORARY OR FINAL]If you decide that changing or dropping your order is right for you, it is often a good idea to plan ahead in case the respondent resumes the abuse. We have safety planning tips available on our website, and your local domestic violence organization may be able to help you find resources in the event of emergency in your community. Lastly, you can find more information about protection orders in STATE on our website. [[HYPERLINK]