Restraining Orders

For purposes of getting a civil order of protection, domestic abuse is defined as when a family or household member commits one of the following acts:

• causing or attempting to cause you bodily injury or serious bodily injury, with or without a deadly weapon;
• placing you in fear of immediate (imminent) serious bodily injury by physically threatening or intimidating you (menacing); or
• sexual abuse of a minor child.¹

Note: The criminal definition of family violence under the law is slightly different than the civil definition explained above.²

¹ 7 Guam Code § 40101; see also the petition for an order of protection
² 9 Guam Code § 30.10(a)

A temporary order of protection and a permanent order of protection can do the following:

• order the respondent to:
  • stop harassing, abusing, and threatening you and your children;
  • not use or attempt to use physical force or cause bodily injury;
  • have no communication with you and your children, either directly or indirectly;
  • stay 500 feet away from you, your minor child/ren, your home, your place of employment, and your school;
  • order the respondent to not interfere with your temporary custody and to not remove your children from Guam;
  • pay certain costs and fees, including rent or mortgage payments, child support, medical and dental costs, court costs, or attorneys fees; and
  • temporarily or permanently surrender any kind of weapon or instrument that could cause harm or injury if it were in the possession of the respondent;
• give you custody of your children;
• allow the respondent to have visitation or deny visitation;
• if the home is jointly owned or leased by you and the abuser:
  • give you exclusive possession of the family home by evicting the respondent; or 
  • put back into the home if you already left the home;¹
• if the home is owned or leased only by the respondent and the the respondent has a legal duty to support you or your minor children who were living in the home:
  • give you exclusive possession of the family home by evicting the respondent; 
  • put back into the home if you already left the home; or
  • approve any agreement between you and the abuser that allows the respondent to remain in the home but gives you suitable, alternative housing; 
• if you are married to the abuser, or if you have a minor child in common and you live together, order the respondent to:
  • not take any action that could result in the termination of any necessary utility services or services related to the family home or your home where you live with your children;
  • pay for (maintain) utility services or other necessary services;
  • not take any action that could result in the cancelation, change of coverage, or change of beneficiary of any health, automobile, or homeowners insurance policy that would harm you or your children;
  • pay for (maintain) insurance policies without change in coverage or beneficiary designation;
  • give you temporary possession of any automobile, checkbook, documentation of health, automobile or homeowners insurance, a document needed for purposes of proving identity, a key, or other necessary specified personal items; 
  • make rent or mortgage payments on the family home or your home where you live with your children;
  • pay child support if the respondent has the ability to pay.²

Note: In a permanent order of protection, if the judge finds “probable cause” to do so, the judge is supposed to require the respondent to immediately surrender all firearms and ammunition to the Marshal of the Court, or to another other law enforcement officer. “Probable cause” can come from the allegations you made in your petition or from evidence presented at the hearing. In addition, the judge can issue any search warrants that are necessary for the Marshal to get the weapons and ammunition.³

¹ MR 2.1.4.
² 7 Guam Code § 40105(a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5)
³ MR 2.1.8.(A)(1), (A)(2)

When you and the abuser live in different states, the judge may not have “personal jurisdiction” (power) over an out-of-state abuser. This means that the court may not be able to grant an order against him/her.

There are a few ways that a court can have personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state abuser:

1. The abuser has a substantial connection to your state. Perhaps the abuser regularly travels to your state to visit you, for business, to see extended family, or the abuser lived in your state and recently fled.
2. One of the acts of abuse “happened” in your state. Perhaps the abuser sends you threatening texts or harassing phone calls from another state but you read the messages or answer the calls while you are in your state. The judge could decide that the abuse “happened” to you while you were in your state. It may also be possible that the abuser was in your state when s/he abused you s/he but has since left the state.
3. If you file your petition and the abuser gets served with the court petition while s/he is in your state, this is another way for the court to get jurisdiction.

However, even if none of the above apply to your situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t get an order. If you file, you may be granted an order on consent or the judge may find other circumstances that allow the order to be granted.

You can read more about personal jurisdiction in our Court System Basics - Personal Jurisdiction section.

Note: If the judge in your state refuses to issue an order, you can file for an order in the courthouse in the state where the abuser lives. However, remember that you will likely need to file the petition in person and attend various court dates, which could be difficult if the abuser’s state is far away.