Restraining Orders

After you have filed the forms with the clerk of court, s/he will bring them to the judge. If you have checked off the box requesting an ex parte order, a temporary (ex parte) restraining order can be issued on the day you apply for your restraining order if you allege (and the judge believes) that there is an immediate and present physical danger to you. When deciding what to include in the temporary ex parte order, the judge can also consider the report that will be prepared by the family services unit of the Judicial Branch that may include, as available:

• any existing or prior orders of protection against the respondent that are recorded in the protection order registry;
• information on any pending criminal case or past criminal case in which the respondent was convicted of a violent crime;
• any outstanding arrest warrant for the respondent;
• the respondent’s level of risk based on a risk assessment tool utilized by the Court Support Services Division;
• information related to any pending or disposed (resolved) family matters cases involving you and the respondent.¹

The ex parte order will generally last until the full court hearing for the permanent order, which has to take place within 14 days. However, if you include in your application that the abuser has a permit or eligibility certificate to carry a pistol or revolver, a long gun, ammunition, or that s/he possesses firearms or ammunition, the hearing has to take place within seven days.²

¹ C.G.S. § 46b-15(b)
² C.G.S. § 46b-15(b), (c); see also Application for Abuse from Relief