A civil restraining order or temporary restraining order can be issued the same day it is requested. These orders do far more than remove one person from the home. The order also will allow for the alleged victim to gain temporary care and control of the children, make it illegal for the defendant to contact the alleged victim at home or at work, and provide for arrangements for visitation, or deny any parenting time if it is believed that the children are being harmed or could be harmed.
The law allows for a restraining order to be issued by showing that domestic violence or threats of injury or harm is likely to have taken place. You can get such an order issued against another person without criminal charges being filed, or having called the police for protection. Essentially, if your spouse, girlfriend, roommate or other family member claims that you have been violent or abusive, made threats of physical harm, committed an act of domestic violence, have been engaged in stalking or committed sexual assault, a restraining order will be issued by the court restricting your contact with the alleged victim.
If the TRO is sought after court hours, law enforcement has been given the right to issue the order on an emergency basis.
The judge issuing the order could order you to stay a specific distance from our home (even if you are the owner of the property), from your job, from your children's school, from friends or places the family frequents, or away from public places where you frequently go.
Once the order is issued, if the defendant violates any of the restrictions, he or she has violated the law, and will be taken into custody and charged with a violation. Once a bail hearing has taken place, the defendant will be released, usually occurring within one day, once bail has been posted.
The defendant has the right to contest the order or any part of it. These can be difficult issues for the court to decide, as it may be generally assumed that the story being told by the alleged victim is true, even if it is completely false. It is a terrible situation to be accused of domestic violence when the accusation is false, or when there is far more to the story than what is being told, such as in cases of being accused when you were forced to defend yourself from an attack.
Call the Lancaster Law Office, LLC at once if you are accused of domestic violence and a restraining order has been issued. Don't violate the order, as you can make your legal situation more difficult. If the accusations are exaggerated, false, or you are concerned about what will take place next, we can answer all of your questions and get your defense in motion.
