If someone is endangering you or your children, your first priority will be to get away from them, and ensure they will stay away from you. many people are aware that restraining orders are the best way to get protection from the law. However, if you have never filed for a restraining order, you may not know that there are multiple types of restraining orders.
- Emergency Protective Order. This type of restraining order is available 24 hours a day from the police. It is enacted immediately to protect individuals from abuse, serious harassment, or stalking.
- Domestic Violence Restraining Order. This restraining order is used to protect individuals from family members, spouses, former partners, parties that have children together, and parties that have a current relationship.
- Civil Harassment Restraining Order. A Civil Harassment restraining order protects an individual from anyone else who may be a threat to them, other than those listed in a Domestic Violence restraining order.
- Elder and Dependent Adult Restraining Order. This order protects elder adults and dependent adults from abuse from their caregiver, including physical and financial abuse, neglect, isolation, abduction, harm, or deprivation.
- Workplace Violence Prevention Restraining Order. This protective order protects employees from violence in the workplace.
- Criminal Restraining Order. This order protects victims and witnesses from the defendant during a criminal case.
- Juvenile Restraining Order. A Juvenile Restraining Order is put in place to protect a person from violence or credible threats of violence from a juvenile.
It is possible and not uncommon to have more than one kind of restraining order at one time. For instance, a person who has a Criminal Protective Order in place may also seek a restraining order in family or civil law. If you need multiple restraining orders, tell the judge and the District Attorney about the existing restraining order. In this case, the Criminal Protective Order would take precedence over conflicting orders, meaning is the criminal order is different from the other protective order, it will be obeyed before any other orders.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911 and inform the police of your situation. The police can alert an on-call judicial officer who will issue you an Emergency Protective Order. This order will legally prohibit the batterer from coming within a certain distance of you, and can also give you temporary custody of your children.
The Emergency Protective Order last for five to seven calendar days, and is put in place when you are in immediate and present danger. For a longer restraining order, you have to file for a Temporary Restraining Order, or “TRO.” If you are granted the TRO it will go into effect as soon as the abuser is served the court papers. The TRO will remain in effect for about 3 weeks, when you will attend a court hearing. At this hearing, you can request a longer, “permanent” restraining order. A permanent restraining order can remain in effect for up to 5 years. The permanent restraining order can be renewed.
