English
Español"Third party contact" - Can a relative/friend talk to the person with a restraining order without getting the respondent in trouble?
Whether a parent, relative, or friend can speak to a person who is protected by a restraining order (petitioner) without getting the respondent into trouble may depend on factors such as:
- what is ordered in the restraining order;
- whether the respondent has asked the parent or friend to contact the petitioner;
- or even whether the contact could be interpreted by the petitioner or by law enforcement as contact that was initiated (started) by the respondent.
Although I cannot specifically talk about your situation, as I mentioned above, I can tell you that the situation you are describing is often called “third party contact.” Third party contact is generally considered to be when a respondent contacts the petition but doesn’t do it directly. Instead, the respondent does it indirectly by getting someone else to make the contact but the message or the content of the communication is coming from the respondent. For example, let’s say a respondent tells his/her brother to text the petitioner to ask if the petitioner can send the children to the respondent’s family for Christmas. Even though this message isn’t threatening per se, this could be an example of third-party contact that is a violation of a protection order because the respondent is asking someone else to relay a message. However, let’s say on his own, the respondent’s brother reaches out to the petitioner to ask if he can see the kids on Christmas, this may not be considered unlawful “third party contact” because the respondent had no part of this communication.
However, even if the respondent has not asked the relative or friend to make contact, but the petitioner believes this to be the case, it may be possible that the petitioner could report the contact to law enforcement, which may put the respondent in danger of being arrested for violating the 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 doesn’t specifically say “no third party contact,” it may be still be interpreted that the respondent cannot use another person to contact the petitioner.
If you are not sure what the order prohibits, or you want any other advice about your situation, you may want to talk to a lawyer.
You can find free and paid lawyers in STATE on our website. (HYPERLINK)
You can also see more information about restraining orders in STATE on our website. (HYPERLINK)
