Restraining Orders

In many states, the types of contact that are prohibited within a protection order will be spelled out within the order - so, it may say something like “no direct contact, via phone, in person, email, text, or other means.” I can’t specifically speak to your situation or STATE laws’ specific interpretation but generally, “direct contact” is contact made between the respondent and the petitioner, such as if the respondent sends an instant message, text, phone call, in-person contact, etc. Again, I can’t speak to your specific situation but generally, “indirect contact” often involves a third party. It is generally considered to be when a person is not making contact with the petitioner directly, but rather s/he is doing it indirectly (through another person). Whether or not third party contact is a violation of a protection order may depend on the exact terms of the protection order. Some orders may specifically say “no third party contact” and other orders may just say “no contact.” In cases where an order says “no contact” but don’t specifically say “no third party contact,” it may be still be interpreted that the respondent cannot use another person to contact the petitioner - however, I cannot speak to how your state would interpret this.

Generally, if an order says “no third party contact,” it may mean that the respondent cannot contact the petitioner through another person (which the law is calling a “third party”). So, for example, if a respondent tells his/her friend/relative or calls the petitioner’s friend/relative and asks that person to relay a message to the petition (even if the message is not a threatening one), this could be examples of third-party contact.

If you are not sure what your order prohibits, or if you want specific advice about how your state law considers third-party contact when the order only says “no contact,” or if you want any other advice about your situation, you may want to talk to a lawyer. Here is a link for lawyers, some of which may be free or low-cost if you qualify: LINK

Also, here is a link with more information about protection orders in STATE in case it is useful:LINK