Restraining Orders

THIS IS WRITTEN TO THE RESPONDENT - CHANGE IT IF YOU ARE WRITING TO VICTIM:
I am not sure if you have a civil protection order that someone filed against you or if you were arrested and a criminal court order was issued so I will address both. In general, the most common way that violations of civil and criminal protection orders come to the attention of law enforcement or the courts is if the petitioner on the order reports an alleged violation. In terms of criminal protection orders issued after an arrest, it may be possible that at court dates, the judge may check in with the district attorney to ask if the order is being followed and perhaps if the crime victim mentioned contact to the district attorney, perhaps it may come to the court’s attention that way. Other ways that violations may be detected may be if there is police involvement for another reason, such as a traffic stop, for example or a call to the home, and the police witness the petitioner and defendant together in violation of a stay-away order. In this case, even if a petitioner asks that the police do not arrest, they may do so anyway.