Modifying a Norwalk Protective Order

There are three levels of protective orders that can be issued and modified in Connecticut. The first level is that the person may have contact with the victim and may live with the victim. However, the defendant cannot stalk, threaten, or harass the person or victim. The second level is that the defendant may have contact with the victim but may not reside with the victim. In other words, they cannot go to the place the issuer calls their residence, in that second level, the defendant may also not stalk, threaten, or harass the victim in any case. The third and most serious level is that there is what is called a full no contact order, which prohibits any sort of contact whatsoever by the defendant to the victim, whether it is in person, in writing, or through the phone or any form of communication even if it is through a third party.

Protective orders are issued by judges as part of the criminal case while the case is pending. A criminal protective order can only last as long as the criminal case is pending. There is a thing called a standing criminal protective order, which may be imposed as part of a punishment where a defendant is found guilty of a domestic violence crime. Modifying a Norwalk protective order can help avoid instances of violating the order’s terms.

Vacating a Protective Order

After it is issued, a Norwalk protective order can be vacated first and foremost when the criminal charges are no longer pending. If the criminal charges get dropped by the prosecutor or are dismissed for whatever reason, then the criminal protective order would cease to exist. A criminal protective order can also be vacated if the judge does not believe that it is not necessary to protect any of the parties involved in the case.

Although, if there is a criminal charge pending and it is a domestic violence case, the practical reality is that there will always be some form or some level of protective order in place, although it could be the lowest level but the wording of the statute means that technically the judge could vacate it if he believed that there the safety or welfare of any of the parties involved was not an issue.

Call Our Firm for Help Modifying a Norwalk Protective Order

The last thing that the judge can do is not vacate it in whole but also reduce the level of protective order while the case is pending. This modification of a protective order in Norwalk will have certain standards to follow. The standard that they are guided by is what level of protective order is necessary for the protection of the parties involved and so as the case goes along, the judge may become more inclined through the showing of other circumstances that show the threat level has been subsided. Call our firm to learn more.