What types of orders of protection are there? How long do they last?
There are two types of orders of protection, temporary and permanent.
A temporary order of protection can be given to you by a judge if s/he believes it is necessary to protect you or your minor children from abuse. The order can be issued ex parte, which means without the abuser being notified beforehand or being present in court. To give you an ex parte order, the judge must believe that notifying the abuser ahead of time would further endanger the safety and welfare of you or your minor children. However, if the abuser is already represented by an attorney, then the attorney needs to be notified beforehand.1 The order will last for up to ten days until the case is set down for a “show cause hearing.”2 The temporary order must first be served upon the abuser before it takes effect.
After the abuser is served, s/he has the opportunity to appear at the “show cause hearing” where both you and the abuser will have an opportunity to tell your own sides of the story to a judge. The court can postpone the hearing for a reasonable period of time if the abuser wants to get an attorney. During the continuance, the judge can change (modify) the temporary order, continue it as temporary, or possibly even make it permanent.
At the show cause hearing, you will have to prove the allegations in your petition to be granted a permanent order of protection by the judge. If you and the abuser settle the case with a “consent agreement” in which the abuser agrees to not abuse you and your children, the judge can approve that agreement. The permanent order can last for a period of time determined by the judge.2
1 MR 2.1.3.(A)(1); 7 Guam Code § 40104(a), (b)
2 MR 2.1.3.(A)(4), (B)(4), (B)(5)