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Getting a Domestic
Violence Protective Order
Without Hiring a Lawyer
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| It is against the law
for your husband or boyfriend to abuse you. Abuse
is slapping, hitting, grabbing, pushing, choking, kicking, wrestling,
hair pulling, punching or any other act that causes injury.
Abuse can also be threatening to do any of these things to you
and putting you in danger of serious injury. This law
applies to your husband, your ex-husband or your live-in boyfriend.
You can go to court without a lawyer and ask the
judge for a Domestic Violence Protection Order.
A Domestic Violence Protective Order is also called a restraining
order, TRO (temporary restraining order) or a 50B order.
It is a paper which is signed by a judge and says that your
husband, ex-husband or boyfriend should not abuse you or your
children.
A Protective Order may do more than just protect
you or your children. A Domestic Violence Protective
Order may:
* Order him not to assault, threaten, abuse,
follow, harass or interfere with you and your children either
in person or on the phone;
* Allow you to live in the home where you and
he have lived together and order him to move out and not return
to the home;
* Give you possession of personal property such
as clothing and household goods except for his personal clothing,
toiletries and tools of trade;
* Give you possession and use of the car;
* Order him to stay away from your home, your
workplace, your school, the children's school and/or daycare,
or any place where you are seeking shelter;
* Give you temporary custody of the minor children
and order him to pay child support;
* Tell the police or sheriff's department to
remove him from the home and help you return to the home.
How to ask for a Domestic Violence Protection Order
Go to the Clerk of Courts at the courthouse and ask
for a form called Complaint and Motion for Domestic Violence
Protective Order. Fill out the form carefully.
You will be the plaintiff (the person making the complaint)
and your husband or boyfriend will be the defendant (the person
accused of abuse). Write you husband or boyfriend's
full name and home and work addresses in the box called "Name
and Address of Defendant". Give a phone number,
if possible. After you fill out the form, sign it in
front of a notary public or court clerk.
Fill out the top part of the Civil Summons. Write
your name and a safe mailing address and phone number where
you can be reached. (If you are staying at a shelter
or other secret place, do not write the actual street address.)
Write the defendant's name, home and work addresses and phone
numbers, if possible. Write directions on the summons
if the defendant's address is hard to find.
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If you or
your child are in danger, ask for an ExParte order in your complaint and motion
Usually, in any court action, the judge will listen
to both sides before making a decision. However, in domestic violence cases, the law
allows the judge to sign an ExParte Protective Order. This order is signed before
your husband or boyfriend is notified that you have filed a complaint and before he tells
the judge his side of the story (Ex Parte means from one side only.)
An Ex Parte order will last for no more than ten
days. Within the ten days, there will be a hearing to decide if you can get
protection for a longer time. At that hearing the defendant will get a chance to
tell his side of the story.
If you want an Ex-Parte order, be sure to check Box
2 at the bottom of page 1 of the Complaint and Motion form. |
File the Complaint with the Clerk
of Court and pay the filing and service fees. Pay the
clerk a filing fee of $41 in cash, plus $4 for the Sheriff to
serve the papers (deliver them to the defendant). If you
cannot afford those fees, you may be able to file without paying.
(You may need proof of income.) Ask the Clerk for a form
called Petition to Sue as a Pauper. You have
to sign this form in front of a notary public or the Clerk and
you must have a witness with you who believes you should get
a protective order. The witness must sign the form.
Ask the Clerk for the date and time of your
hearing. If you asked for an ex parte
order in your Complaint and Motion, let the clerk know this.
The clerk must set a date and time for you to meet with the
judge. You should be given a chance to appear before
a judge within two or three days for your ex parte
hearing. Whether or not you asked for an ex parte
order, you will have a hearing for a Domestic Violence Protective
Order. This hearing should be held within a week to
ten days.
Before the hearing for a Domestic Violence
Protective Order, a copy of the court papers must be served
(delivered) to the defendant by the sheriff or police.
If you received an ex parte order, it will
be served with the other papers.
Going Before the Judge
Always be on time.
If possible, bring any evidence you have.
Evidence can include medical reports, pictures, torn
or dirty clothes, pulled hair, broken items, a copy of the
defendant's criminal record or anything else to help convince
the judge that you need court protection.
Speak directly to the judge. Tell your
story in your own words. You may look at any notes you
have.
Be courteous. Do not argue or lose your
temper.
If you cannot make it to your hearing,
call the clerk's office ahead of time. The clerk may
give you another court date or you may lose your chance to
go before the judge.
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| If you asked for an Ex Parte Order,
the hearings may be very short and may take place just after you file your papers.
You do not usually have witnesses at this hearing. The judge may want you to tell
why you believe that you or your children are in danger and why you need immediate
protection. If the judge rules in your favor,
the judge will sign an Ex Parte Domestic Violence Protection Order.
Before you leave the courthouse, find out the date
and time for your Domestic Violence Protection Order hearing and get a copy of the Ex
Parte Order. The clerk will deliver the papers to the Sheriff for service
on the defendant. |
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The hearing for a Domestic Violence
Protection Order
As the plaintiff, you must prove that the
defendant abused or threatened to abuse you or the children
and convince a judge that you need protection and each thing
you asked for in the complaint (custody, support or possession
of your home).
Therefore,
* Contact any witnesses who
saw the abuse or your injuries. Anyone can be a witness
- friend, stranger, even a child. Tell your witnesses
as soon as possible when and where the hearing will be.
Some witnesses may not come without a Subpoena which commands
them to appear and testify. The clerk has Subpoena forms.
The fee will be $4 unless you have filed as a pauper (poor
person).
* Practice telling your story before
you to go court. You may want to make notes about what
happened - times, dates, places, who was there (including
your children, if they saw any of the abuse). Be specific.
For example, rather than say "He hit me," say how
he hit you, where and how many times.
* Practice with your witnesses.
They need to be ready to answer questions from the defendant
or his attorney.
What about the Children?
If you think the defendant may harm the children,
be prepared to tell the judge why you think this. Be
prepared to tell the judge what kind of custody and visitation
arrangements you think would be best for the children.
In most cases, the defendant will be allowed to spend time
with his children. You can suggest to the judge where
and when the defendant can visit the children safely.
It is usually not a good idea for you to supervise visitation
yourself.
The Usual Order of Events
1. Everyone who testifies at the
hearing must swear or affirm that they will tell the truth.
2. Since you are the plaintiff, you will tell your side
of the story first. Tell your story simply and truthfully.
The judge, the defendant or the defendant's lawyer may ask
you questions. If you are afraid to answer any question,
tell the judge why. After you finish, your witnesses
will have a chance to speak. The judge or the other
side may also ask them questions.
3. The defendant will tell his side of the story.
His story may be very different from yours. The judge
may ask the defendant and his witnesses some questions.
Then you may ask them questions, but you do not have to.
You may ask questions only about the facts in the case.
4. The judge will make a decision after hearing both
sides and looking at all the evidence. If the judge
rules in your favor, the judge will sign a written Domestic
Violence Protective Order. The order will say what protection
or relief you are given.
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IMPORTANT
If you cannot make it to your hearing, call the
clerk's office ahead of time. The clerk may give you another court date or the judge
may dismiss the case. (If you case is dismissed, this means that you do not get what
you have asked from the judge.) If the defendant has been served and you do not call
and do not show up, your case will be dismissed. In addition, the judge could let
the defendant present his case and may give him what he asks for, such as custody of the
children. |
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Enforcing your Domestic Violence
Protective Order
You should keep a copy of the Domestic Violence
Protective Order with you at all times and keep a copy at
your home and workplace. Be sure your local sheriff
or police department has a copy.
If the defendant violates the order, call
the sheriff or police at once. Tell them you have a
Domestic Violence Protective Order and that he is violating
the order. Ask them to come and arrest the defendant.
In some cases, he may be arrested immediately
for violating the order. In other cases, you may have
to fill out and file a form called Motion for Order to Show
Cause/Domestic Violence Protective Order. The clerk
has this form. It must be signed in front of a notary
public or court clerk.
If you file a Motion for Order to Show Cause,
the clerk will schedule a hearing before a judge. Be
sure to find out the date of the hearing. At the hearing,
the judge will decide whether the defendant has violated the
Domestic Violence Protective Order and will set punishment.
You Should See a Lawyer
if ...
you think the defendant
will hire a lawyer; or
you think the defendant will try to get custody of
the children.
If
you have difficulty understanding or need additional information
or assistance, call your nearest legal service agent or your
local battered women's program.
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