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Legal Information: Vermont

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
December 12, 2023

What happens if the abuser violates the order?

You can call the police even if you think it is a minor violation. Intentionally violating a sexual assault or stalking protective order can be put in jail for up to one year, fined up to $5,000, or both. The penalties increase can increase to up to three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines (or both) if s/he has a prior conviction for violating a sexual assault or stalking protective order, a relief from abuse order, or an order preventing contact with a child or if s/he a prior conviction for domestic assault or aggravated domestic assault.1

Make sure a police report is filled out, even if no arrest is made. If you have legal documentation of all violations of the order, it may help you have the order extended or modified in the future. It is a good idea to write down the name of the responding officer(s) and their badge numbers in case you want to follow up on your case.

You also have the option for filing for contempt in the court where your order was issued.

1 VT ST 13 § 1030(a),(b)

Can the order be changed or extended?

When your order expires, you can file a motion with the court to extend your order. The judge can extend it for such additional time as the judge believes is necessary to protect you and/or your children. There does not have to be another incident of stalking or sexual assault during the time you had the order to extend it.1

To change an order, you or the abuser can file a motion to modify (change) the order if there has been a substantial change in circumstance. The judge can change the order at any time.1

1 VT ST 12 § 5133(e)

What can I do if the abuser keeps filing court proceedings against me?

Vermont law allows a judge to issue an order that stops the abuser from filing new petitions, motions, or discovery demands against you if the abuser is engaging in “abusive litigation.” You may qualify for protection under this law if, at a hearing, you can prove all three of the following facts:

1.    you and the abuser are current or former family or household members, or the abuser stalked or sexually assaulted you;1
2.    one of the following is true:

•    the abuser has an abuse prevention order issued against him/her from Vermont or an equivalent order from another state;
•    the abuser has an order against stalking or sexual assault issued against him/her;
•    the abuser has an order controlling how parent-child contact may be made in a case involving domestic violence issued against him/her;
•    the abuser has a criminal conviction for domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault committed against you; or
•    a judge has found probable cause that the abuser committed domestic assault against you and has put release conditions on the abuser to protect you;2 and

3.    the litigation is abusive because the abuser has filed or served a new case, a new motion in an existing case, or a new discovery request on you with the intent of abusing, harassing, intimidating, threatening, or maintaining contact with you.3 The abuser’s case must also include legal claims that do not fit under any law, factual claims without any evidence, or an issue that has already been litigated in a case between you that you won.4

Note: Instead of you having to convince the judge that the litigation is abusive, the judge will assume the litigation is abusive if any of the following are true:

1.    you and the abuser have had a court case dealing with the same or similar issues within the past five years;
2.    issues that are the same or similar have been brought up in a court case between you and the abuser within the past five years and a judge either dismissed them or made a decision based on the merits of the case;
3.    the abuser has been punished (sanctioned) by a court within the past ten years for filing baseless (frivolous), malicious (vexatious),  extreme, unreasonable (intransigent) litigation, or litigation brought in bad faith against you; or
4.    a judge has previously decided (found) that the abuser engaged in abusive litigation and issued an order restricting the abuser’s ability to file new cases.5

The abuser could still present evidence to change the judge’s mind in any of these circumstances, but this puts the burden on the abuser to disprove your case, rather than putting the burden on you to prove your case.

1 VT ST 15 § 1181(1)(A)
2 VT ST 15 §§ 1181(1)(B); 665a
3 VT ST 15 § 1181(1)(C), (3)
4 VT ST 15 § 1181(1)(D)
5 VT ST 15 § 1183

 

At what point in the court process can I request an order to restrict abusive litigation?

You may request an order restricting abusive litigation at any point, including:

  • in any answer or response to a new case the abuser has filed;
  • by making a motion at any time in an existing case;
  • in an answer or response to a motion the abuser has filed; or
  • orally at a hearing in front of a judge.1

1 VT ST 15 § 1182(a)

What happens if the judge issues an order restricting abusive litigation?

If the judge grants your request for an order restricting abusive litigation, the abuser’s current case will be dismissed or denied. The judge may also award you attorney’s fees and the costs of responding to the abusive litigation.1

Afterwards, the abuser will be required to submit any future cases to the court for review before anything can be served on you.2 The judge would then either issue an order that allows the case to go forward or prohibits the case from continuing. If the abuser serves any new case or petition on you without attaching a copy of the order allowing that case to be filed, you may respond simply by filing a copy of the judge’s order restricting abusive litigation.3

1 VT ST 15 § 1184
2 VT ST 15 § 1185(b)
3 VT ST 15 § 1185(g)

If I get a protection order, will it show up in an internet search?

According to federal law, which applies to all states, territories, and tribal lands, the courts are not supposed to make available publicly on the internet any information that would be likely to reveal your identity or location. This applies to all of these documents:

  • the petition you file;
  • the protection order, restraining order, or injunction that was issued by the court; or
  • the registration of an order in a different state.1

1 18 USC § 2265(d)(3)