Issuing and Modifying a Darien Protective Order

A protective order is common in a domestic violence arrest in Darien. Usually, the judge puts a partial protective order in place to protect the person who was the alleged victim, even if it is not a serious case. For example, a person might receive harassing phone calls and threats for various reasons. Unless there is a threat of danger, the judge does not grant any type of restraining order.

Protective orders last for the duration of the criminal case. Some of the more serious domestic violence cases can last up to two years, and less serious cases may range between six months and a year. Cases involving protective orders can be complex, so it is important for everyone involved to understand the methods involving issuing and modifying Darien protective orders. Compassionate protective order lawyers in Darien can be essential in helping to streamline these considerations.

Process of Issuing

The judge usually upholds a protective order in a criminal court if the police put one in place at the time of an arrest. The police officers who investigated the domestic violence incident are the most qualified to determine whether a party is in imminent physical danger and the situation is emergent. If a party is determined to be in imminent physical danger, a protective order will be issued.

A criminal protective order is issued in Darien when the judge determines that someone is in danger. When the police perform a domestic violence arrest, they have the power to issue a 24-hour protective order. The protective order is in place for 24 hours until a defendant is arraigned in court the next day. The protective order covers the time of the arrest until the person goes to court when the judge has the opportunity to review the protective order. The judge determines whether the protective order should remain in place.

What a Civil Protective Order Mandates

If a civil protective order is issued against a person and it is a residential stay away, the person cannot go home. They must find somewhere else to live for the duration of the protective order. For the duration of the restraining order, the person cannot go home and cannot speak to the person that is protected.

A civil protection order can be quite strict. The order ensures that the person cannot go anywhere near the protected party. With a full no contact restraining order, the respondent cannot speak to the protected party. With the partial protective order, the person cannot harass, threaten, or assault the other party. It is somewhat vague because people construe threatening or harassing behavior differently.

Sometimes, a person claims that their restraining order is violated because of a text message or something that does not look as serious. When these cases go to court, the judge must determine whether it rises to the level of violating the protective order. Sometimes, social media comes into play when the other party makes comments on pictures or something similar and the protected party believes it is threatening behavior. It is up for the court to decide whether it is.

Vacating and Modifying an Order

A criminal protective order can be vacated or modified in Darien if the judge finds that the threat is significantly reduced. Usually, a criminal protective order is not vacated unless the case is dropped. However, a judge might be amenable to modifying a Darien protective order if an attorney makes a motion to modify the order and the respondent received counseling and has a track record of getting help including anger management counseling or counseling for other issues.

The other situation in which a judge is likely to modify a protective order is when a significant cooling off period passes between the arrest and time of the motion. If the parties want to reconcile their relationship, the judge keeps in mind that the parties are trying to reconcile and enough time has passed where they are no longer angry about the incident and should be given the opportunity to start speaking to each other again.

Extention

A protective order can be modified by a motion to modify the protective order. In Darien, the protective order can also be extended at the end of a criminal case to a standing criminal protective order, depending on the circumstances. When the case is wrapping up and is being disposed of in court, the judge states the person cannot speak to the protected party for a lengthy period of time, even as long as one hundred years. It is like a lifetime order, is put into the record, and remains in effect until further order of the court. When there is a really long protective order, the protected person has the opportunity to come back in 20 years to modify it if they choose to do so. It is beneficial to have the help of a skilled attorney when issuing, and then modifying or extending a Darien protective order because they will have the most accurate assumption of the case from the beginning.