Northern Mariana Islands Restraining Orders

What is the legal definition of domestic or family violence in the CNMI?

For the purposes of getting an order of protection, “domestic or family violence” is when a family or household member does any of the following things to you:

recklessly or intentionally injures you physically;
tries to injure you physically;
places you in fear of injury;
forces, threatens, or intimidates you into sexual activity against your will;
tries to force, threaten, or intimidate you into sexual activity against your will; or
harasses you.¹

Domestic or family violence does not include acts of self-defense.¹

“Harassment” is when someone repeatedly says or does things that seriously upset or annoy you. The person must be doing these things specifically to you, on purpose, and there must not be any good (“legitimate”) reason for doing these things.²

Note: A petition for an order of protection cannot be dismissed or denied based only on the fact that the incident(s) you wrote about in your petition happened a while before you applied for the order.³

¹ 8 CMC § 1902(a)
² 8 CMC § 1902(c)
³ 8 CMC § 1919

What is the legal definition of a family or household member?

Orders of protection can protect you against family or household members who commit domestic or family violence against you. “Family or household members” are defined as adults or minors who are:

your current or former spouse;
someone who lives with you or has lived with you recently;
someone you are dating;
someone you recently had a sexual relationship with;
someone who is related to you by blood or by adoption;
someone who is - or used to be - related to you by marriage; or
someone you share a child with.¹

A family or household member can also be a minor child that resulted from any of the relationships listed above.¹

¹ 8 CMC § 1902(b)

What types of orders of protection are there? How long do they last?

In the CNMI, there are two types of orders of protection that you can file for in civil court.

You can get a temporary ex parte order (“TRO”) if the judge believes you are the victim of domestic or family violence. “Ex parte” means the abuser is not there and does not know about the order in advance. The abuser will be notified after the TRO is entered, and a hearing will be held within ten days.¹This hearing is called an “order to show cause” (“OSC”) hearing. The judge will choose the date the order expires.²

At the OSC hearing, you and the abuser can each present evidence and witnesses. If the judge believes the abuser committed domestic or family violence against you, you can get a final order of protection (“OOP”). The judge will choose the date the order expires.³ Typically, an order of protection will be in effect for up to one year. As long as the abuser has been served, a judge can issue a final order of protection whether or not the abuser comes to court.⁴

Note: A police officer can request an emergency order on your behalf when s/he believes that there has been an incident of domestic or family violence. The officer can call the judge and tell him/her what has happened. If the judge believes that you are in immediate danger, s/he can issue an order either over the phone (oral) or in writing. If it’s an oral order, the officer will write the judge’s order on a form and give a copy to both you and the abuser.⁵ The law doesn’t specify how long this order will last.

¹ 8 CMC § 1916(a)(1), (d)(1), (e); 1917(a)
² 8 CMC § 1916(e)
³ 8 CMC § 1916(a)(2)
⁴ 8 CMC § 1916(c)
⁵ 8 CMC § 1915(a), (b)

What protections can I get in an order of protection?

As part of a temporary ex parte order (TRO), the judge can do any of the following:

order the abuser not to commit or threaten to commit domestic or family violence against you and any listed family or household member;
forbid the abuser from harassing you or communicating with you directly or indirectly by sending messages through another person, for example;
remove and exclude the abuser from your home, no matter who owns it;
order the abuser to stay away from your home, school, workplace, or any specific place you and your family or household members go to often;
tell a police officer to go with you to your home if you left but are now moving back in;
give you or the abuser possession and use of personal belongings and order the police to supervise the removal of those items if necessary;
grant you temporary custody and support of any minor children you and the abuser share;
grant temporary custody and support of your minor children to a grandparent or to another qualified family member if you specifically ask the judge to do that;
order other things the judge thinks are necessary to protect and provide for your safety and the safety of any family or household member;
forbid the abuser from having or using a firearm or any other specific weapon; and
make specific arrangements for the abuser to visit with any minor children, including that visits may be supervised or denied altogether if it’s necessary to protect your safety or your children’s safety.¹

As part of a final order of protection (OOP), the judge can do any of the following:

order all of the protections listed above in numbers 1 – 11; and
order the following additional payments:
- expenses related to the domestic violence incident that the case is about, such as medical bills, counseling, shelter, fixing or replacing broken property, etc.;
- costs and attorney fees from the case; and
- if the abuser has a duty to support you or your children, the judge can order him/her to pay:
  - some or all of your rent or mortgage; and
  - support for you or your children.²

Note: As part of an emergency order of protection requested by the police, the judge can order any of the protections listed above in numbers 1 – 9.³

¹ 8 CMC § 1916(b)
² 8 CMC § 1916(c)
³ 8 CMC § 1915(c)

If the abuser lives in a different state or territory, can I still get an order against him/her?

When you and the abuser live in different places, a judge in the CNMI may not have legal power (personal jurisdiction) over an abuser who lives somewhere else. This means that the judge may not be able to grant an order against him/her.

However, there are a few ways that a judge can get personal jurisdiction over an abuser who lives outside of the CNMI:

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

Even if none of the above apply to your situation, you may still be able to get an order. If you file, the abuser may agree to an order “on consent” or the judge may decide there are other reasons to grant the order.

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

Note: If the judge in the CNMI refuses to give you an order, you can file in the courthouse in the abuser’s state or territory. However, you might need to file the petition in person and attend various court dates. This could be difficult when the abuser’s state or territory is far away.

Legal Information: Northern Mariana Islands