Domestic Violence Restraining Orders

Frequently Asked Questions

California’s domestic violence restraining order laws are some of the strictest in the nation. The consequences of having a domestic violence restraining order issued against you are staggering and can result in you being forced out of your home with no notice, being denied any access to your children and being forced to pay maximum child support and/or spousal support. All too often, domestic violence restraining orders are issued based on the evidence of one party, who goes to Court on an ex parte basis, without any notice to the other party, and does so to get a strategic advantage in the case, particularly where there are children involved. If you are served with a temporary domestic violence restraining order and notice of hearing, you should take all possible steps to aggressively defend yourself against such accusations.

I have just been served with a domestic violence restraining order and have been kicked out of my house/apartment—and I still have to pay the mortgage/rent What do I do?

You need to comply with all of the orders issued by the court and then take all necessary steps to put together your defense and prepare for your upcoming hearing which will determine if the temporary restraining order will become a permanent restraining order.

If I could just talk to the person who obtained the restraining order, I’m sure we could work this out.

If you do that, you may be violating the terms of the restraining order and land yourself in criminal court. Many times, temporary domestic violence restraining orders prohibit the restrained party from having any contact or communications with the party who sought the order. That means, you can’t talk to them—period—until that order is modified. Doing so, is a violation of a restraining order which is a criminal offense, punishable by jail time. This is so, even if that person calls you up to talk (and some of them do this, just to trick you). Did you know that there is a provision in domestic violence restraining orders that permit the protected party to tape record their conversations with you without your knowledge? If the person is really out to get you, don’t think they won’t try to call you and play upon your feelings for them just to set you up for a criminal prosecution.

I just want this behind me. What’s the problem with just admitting to the allegations and not fighting this?

More than you think. First of all, most of these restraining orders get entered into a database that is searchable by governmental agencies and may even be accessible by private parties. Certain jobs will be off limits to you if you have a domestic violence order entered against you. Many private employers will not want to interview you, let alone hire you, if they see a domestic violence restraining order on your record. If you screw up and violate the restraining order, it can also land you in criminal court and in jail.

If you have children with the person who sought the restraining order, the existence of a domestic violence restraining order actually creates a presumption, lasting up to five years, that it is not in the child’s best interest to grant your request for any modification of any custody and visitation orders governing your visitation rights.

What evidence do I need to defend myself?

As much as possible and preferably evidence that can credibly corroborate your rebuttal of the allegations. If there were other witnesses to the incident and they will testify favorably for you, you need to secure their cooperation in giving you declarations or appearing at your hearing to testify on your behalf. If you have any copies of communications between you and your accuser, such as copies of emails, texts, the accuser’s social media sites, such as Facebook or Myspace, etc., that can corroborate your claims, you need to obtain copies those and seek to have them admitted as evidence.

Keep in mind that you if intend to present live testimony to defend your case, the Court may not be able to hear your case on the normal docket assigned to these cases (usually only 20 minutes per case) and will have to schedule your case for a one-hour or more hearing date, that could be several weeks or months out, depending on the court’s schedule.

How long can a domestic violence restraining order last?

Up to five years for the initial order. But, the party seeking it can ask the court to renew it for up to another five years, and at the end of that renewed period, without any proof of additional domestic violence, ask to renew it again after the expiration of the first renewal and so on and so on, etc. So, in effect, if the party has it out for you, these can turn into virtually permanent orders.

What other risks are there to being the subject of a domestic violence restraining order?

If the Court makes the restraining order permanent after a hearing, the court will order you to pay the other side’s reasonable attorney’s fees, which could be thousands of additional dollars you’ll have to fork out.

If you are a lawful gun owner, you can also be ordered to surrender any firearms and ammunition to your local law enforcement agency or a licensed gun dealer and provide proof to the court that you’ve done so.

You can be ordered to attend a weekly domestic violence class, at your expense. These classes can last up to year. Failure to attend will constitute a violation of the restraining order and could lead to criminal liability.

In short, having a domestic violence restraining order imposed against you can result in the loss of your home, loss of your children, loss of income and loss of your overall liberty. Do not take this lightly if you are served with one.