Domestic Violence restraining Law

If one person harms the other person then the State court issue a legal state order to stop harming another person. This is called a restraining order. The harms can be:

1.     Physical or sexual abuse

2.     Threats

3.     Stalking

4.     Harassment

Another name given to this constraining order is a protection order. Restraining or protective orders laws are different in different states.

A protected person is the person who gets a protective or restraining order while the restrained person is the person whom against restraining orders is issued. Restraining orders can be against a single individual or a family or household member of the protected person.

Restraining Order generally includes the following.

a. Personal conduct orders

These types of orders are issued for the protected person against the restrained person. They include following

1.     Stalking

2.     Threatening

3.     Harassing

4.     Disturbing the peace of the protected person

5.     Destroying Personal property

6.     Sexually assaulting

7.     Attacking, striking, battering

8.     Contacting, calling, or messaging

b. Stay away - orders

These orders are issued by the court to keep the restrained person a certain distance (50-100 yards) from the following.

1.     The protected person/persons

2.     Vehicle of protected person

3.     Residence of protected person

4.     School or daycare center of children of protected person

5.      Place of work of the protected person

6.     Other important places where the protected person goes

C. Residence exclusion

These orders ask the restrained person to get of the place where the protected person lives. The retrained person can take clothing and personal belongings along with him until the next court hearing. These orders are asked for domestic violence.

The restrained person can have serious consequences in response to these orders. These can be as follows.

1.     The restrained person will not be able to go to certain places

2.     The restrained person will not be able to do certain things

3.     The restrained person has to move out of his home

4.     The restrained person may not be able to see his children

5.     The restrained person may not be able to have a gun or not be able to buy a gun

6.     This restraining order may affect the immigration status of the Restrained person if trying for a visa or green card

D. Restitution

This provision orders the abuser to pay medical bills or the cost of any damage caused by him.

E. Treatment

This order asks the restrained person to get the following treatments

·       To attend batterers

·       To attend the treatment program

·       Get regular drug tests

·       Start alcohol/drug abuse counseling

Types of restraining orders

There are the following types of restraining orders

1.     Domestic Violence restraining orders

If someone is the victim of domestic violence then he can get restraining orders if some has abused you. Relationships with abused can be like the following.

·       Married or registered domestic partners

·       Divorced or separated

·       Dating or used to date

·       Have child together

·       Live together or used to live together (more than roommates)

·       You are closely related (parents, brothers, sisters, child, grandfather, grandmother, in-laws)

2.     Elder or dependent adult abuse restraining orders

Elder or dependent adult restarting orders can be obtained by a protected person if

·       The age of the protected person is at least 65

·       Between the age of 18-64 with mental or physical disabilities and unable to perform normal activities or unable to protect yourself.

Along with the above attributes, if you are the victim of following

·       Physical or fitness abuse

·       Neglect or abandonment

·       Physically or mentally hurting treatments

·       If your caregiver keeps you deprive of basic services needed to avoid physical. Mental and emotional problems

3.     Civil harassment restraining orders

Civil harassment restraining orders can be obtained if someone has harassed, stalked, abused, or threatened you. The restrained person is not close to you as in the case of domestic violence. 

4.     Workplace violence restraining orders

Workplace violence restraining order you are an employer and requested a restraining order for an employee who is has suffered stalking, serious threats, credible threats, harassment, or violence from someone.

The employee cannot request restraining orders associated with the workplace. But he can get restraining orders to protect himself regarding other than workplace issues like a civil harassment restraining order.

General information about domestic violence restraining order laws

Domestic violence restraining order laws help to know about the following.

·       Who can file an order

·       What types of protection relief are offered by this order

·       How these protective orders are reinforced

Violation of restraining order

Many things come under the violations of restraining orders. These can be following

·       The abuser does things that the court has asked not to do

·       Abuser fails to do something which court has ordered to do

Enforcement of restraining order

In most of the states, victims can get support from police or court or both to enforce the order. You can contact the police to report about violation of the restraining order. Police after listening and evaluating evidence may arrest the abuser or take any other action. Police can enforce the straining orders those require immediate action. These provisions can be following,

·       Stay away

·       No contact

·       Exclusive use

·       Cease abuse

·       Custody provision

It will be good to inform police when the violation occurs but police can also take action when you are unable to call on the spot and report soon afterward. The violation of restraining law may result in misdemeanor or felony convictions and punishment. Some States allow addressing these types of violations by the civil court. If this is true for the state where you are living then it will be good to bring them to court attention.

Straining order violations that cannot be enforced are handled by the courts. Following violations cannot be enforced by police but by the courts.

·       Failure to pay support

·       To attend the treatment program

If you find that the abuser has violated any of the provisions of the straining order then you can file a motion for contempt in the court that issued the restraining order. You have to explain how the abuser has violated the restarting orders in the motion for contempt. The court will decide for holding a hearing to determine either abuser violated the restraining order but you have to support your motion with evidence of the violation. The petitions for such violations are filed by the prosecutor in some states.

The Judge can decide about such contempt of court by penalizing the abuser if the court finds that the violation did occur. This penalty can be fine, jail, or both. This decision depends upon the laws of your jurisdiction and the nature of the violation. The judge can also modify or extend the restraining order as a result of court contempt.

The violations of a restraining order can come under civil or criminal nature and the abuser can be held for civil contempt or criminal contempt. The outcomes and standards of these are different.

Civil contempt

In civil contempt, the judge usually orders another restraining order asking the abuser to follow the original restraining order.  In this new restraining order, the judge can include punishment. He can also include some other provisions that don’t include imprisonment. Following are some examples of these provisions.

·       The judge might take away the abuser license

·       Changes in protection orders

·       More restrictive protection orders

·       Threat to refer the case to criminal court

Civil contempt is easy to prove in comparison with criminal contempt because standards of proving civil contempt are usually “Preponderance of evidence”. This means that violation is more likely than not to occur.

Criminal contempt

Criminal contempt is more serious than civil. It involves the possibility of more serious fines and imprisonment as a punishment for such contempt. This is possible when the judge finds that a violation did occur. If the judge orders jail imprisonment of a fine to the abuser, then he/she has all rights of criminal charges including the right to go to a jury trial. The standard of proof in criminal contempt is “beyond a reasonable doubt”. This means that judge or jury thinks that the violation did occur but this is based upon certain evidence.

You can also get a piece of detailed information about restraining orders by visiting this link.

If you are looking to get a straining order against anyone of any type then get the services of an experienced Restraining Order Lawyer especially if you are living in Los Angeles.  The hiring of a restraining lawyer is also recommended if straining orders are filed against you who are not only false but also unreasonable.