Category Archives: Restraining Order

A Protective Order restrains an individual from harassing or committing domestic violence against another individual or group of people. In normal circumstances, a judge will consider and rule upon any requested petitions on the same day they are filed with the court.

A Protective Order can be issued following a petition in any court in Arizona. Beneath is a link to a nearby court. Contact them to learn more for specific instructions on their processing of Protective Orders.

If the Protective Order is not being served in phoenix, you may want to petition the court in the area it will be served.

Maricopa County Justice Courts Maricopa County Superior Court

Protective Order Types

Orders Of Protection

An Order of Protection (A.R.S. 13-3602) is an order issued by the court seeking protection from an individual you reside with, currently or in the past or if they are a member of your immediate family. Examples would include:

• A relative of yours, or a relative of your current spouse (contact the Court for specific information)
• Your former or current spouse
• Someone you have lived with or are living with
• Someone you are having a sexual or romantic relationship with
• One individual impregnated by the other individual or a person with whom you have a child
• One of the parties is an in-law or sibling, parent or grandparent

Injunction Against Harassment

An Injunction Against Harassment (A.R.S. 12-1809) is an order from the court seeking protection from an individual who does not live with you, a person who you have no relationship with or a former or present non-family member. Workplaces and individuals are subject to injunctions against harassment. Some examples include:

• The individual must have committed acts of harassment in the last year
• Harassment must have been committed at least twice

Types Of Harassment And Domestic Violence

• Intimidating and threatening behavior
• Surreptitious audio-visual recording
• Stalking
• Kidnapping
• Harassment
• Endangerment
• Conduct that is disorderly
• The disobeying of a court order
• Interference with child custody
• First, second or third degree criminal trespass
• Crimes committed against children
• Vulnerable adult or child abuse
• Assault
• Aggravated Harassment
• Aggravated Domestic Violence
• Aggravated Assault
• Constant texts, emails or phone calls

What A Protective Order Achieves

• Prohibits a person from coming near a work site, home or school, or other locations listed on the court order
• If the person who is served violates the order it provides you with legal recourse for one year
• If your abuser comes within 100 feet of your person when you have a valid protective order in your possession, immediately call 911 and tell the police of the violation—they will mobilize and arrest your abuser immediately.

What A Protective Order Does Not Achieve

• Does not resolve tenant/landlord disputes
• Does not offer a guarantee of your safety
• Does not change visitation or custody orders
• Does not generate any financial gain or loss

Obtaining a Protective Order

1. Go to the office of Protective orders (Room 608) on the 6th floor of the Phoenix Municipal Court.
2. The correct court action for your individual situation can be determined by speaking to the court staff.
3. Fill-out the needed paperwork for the judge to review
4. Once this has been done, you will meet with a judge to further explain your request.

You Will Need The Following To Do The Above

• The name, address and date of birth of the individual you are seeking protection from
• Present or past court proceedings involving yourself and the individual you want protection from
• Phone number and address of the person where the Protective Order can be served

Serving A Protective Order

When you know the location of the defendant, these options are open to you:

• The Protective Orders Coordinator who will work with Phoenix Police once the order has been sent to them and attempt to serve the defendant within the city limits of Phoenix at no cost to you.
• You can take possession of the order and when you decide you want it served as long as the defendant is within Phoenix City limits, you can contact Crime Stop at 602-262-6151 and they will instruct on how the police can serve the defendant.
• At your own expense, hire a private process server to serve the order.

When you do not know the location of the defendant you can do the following:

• Call the Protective Orders Coordinator (call 602-534-3088 Monday-Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM) to try and determine location of the defendant and then the Protective Orders Coordinator can arrange an attempt to serve the order with the local police.
• Once the defendant’s location has been established, you can call Crime Stop at 602- 262-6151 and they will explain how the police can serve the order.
• You can take the order with you and once you have determined the location of the defendant you can hire a private process server, at your own expense, to serve the order on the defendant.

It is vital you understand the Protective Order does not become valid until is served officially by a process server or the police.

Time Periods For Protective Orders

• After one year if the Protective order has not been served, it automatically expires
• From the date of service, the Protective Order is valid for one year (365 days)
• Protective Orders can sometimes be extended beyond one year in some circumstances

Court Hearings

The individual you filed against may obtain a hearing at any point before the order expires. When this occurs, the hearing will be scheduled 5 to 10 business days from the date it was originally requested and the court will notify you. Therefore, if your telephone number or your address changes at anytime you must keep the Protective Orders office updated. If you do not appear, the judge may decide to have the Protective Order dismissed or quashed.

Protective Order Dismissal

Only a judge can dismiss Injunctions Against Harassment and Orders Of Protection. If the person who requested the Protective Order would like the court to think about the dismissal of the order, they must personally go with a picture ID to the Protective Orders office and complete the requested paperwork that the court staff will provide.

Further Information

• Your phone number and address may be kept confidential (only available to court staff)
• Each person for who you are seeking protection from requires separate paperwork
• Some requests may require a court hearing with the person you are seeking protection from before an order is issued
• If the Protective Order is going to be served outside of Phoenix, it may be best to go to a court in the area it will be served

It is possible to drop an order of protection once it has started in particular circumstances. However, the judge (or a different judge) needs to perform an evaluation of the current situation. In some circumstances where the order of protection has been filed is because of improper reasons. When this is explained to the judge, he or she may decide to quickly drop the outstanding order.

Reversing the order when a spouse or partner either regrets or thinks the order of protection has been applied for the wrong reasons, it may require more work to reverse the order than it is when then the order was originally issued. A partner or spouse may call a judge through the appropriate means is there is a need for direct distance between the individuals.  As long as there is reasonable evidence, this is usually granted and may require a complete order or one that prevents the other party from having contact.

Protection Order Explained

There are two kinds of orders:

1. When one partner thinks they require a level of safety to be guaranteed by law. This allows for no contact or communication. It also prevents the person from being within a certain distance of the protected.
2. The other kind of order usually has provisions for some form of contact but often limits communication. The safety usually includes a lack of emotional speech and actions as well as a lack of violence. In normal circumstances, the second type is usually the option that is chosen. This can have an impact on the target in various ways.

Order Of Protection Reasons

There may not be a legitimate or valid reason when a partner or spouse is successful in having an order of protection obtained. There are various reasons as to why this is. it may have been done in the heat of the moment or as an irrational and emotional act. Or perhaps someone has talked to the person and they have drawn the conclusion it was wrong to go for an order. Understand just because things may get heated between a couple, it does not particularly mean they are solid grounds for a protection order. It is also used as a tactic in the hope it will increase the odds of obtaining greater funds in the case of a divorce or acquiring custody of a child or children. These orders may become more complex in the case of abuse or domestic violence. The other party may find the order remains in place until they can prove themselves innocent of criminal charges. Once the concern is in the process stage in the criminal courts, not much can be done. Lifting the order becomes nearly impossible unless the case is either dropped or is concluded by a judge or jury as with a verdict of not guilty.

Dropping The Protection Order

If there are no criminal charge claims the courts have aimed at the target of the order, the process is simpler and there is room for possibly dropping the order. However, when the situation solely involved the domestic relations courts, dropping the order is far less difficult. The petition order may be dropped if the parties can agree to file a dismissal. Furthermore, if the parties fail to show for a hearing, the petition loses its validity. In the absence of a prosecuting lawyer whose job is to pursue the case – there is no need to maintain the protection order if there is no interest from either party in keeping the order active.

Dismiss An Order Of Protection With A Lawyer

It is vitally important to hire a lawyer who knows what can be done so the order of protection may be dropped. Although the person has to initially file a dismissal, the other party may be a no-show for the hearing. A lawyer can also offer many helpful ways forward and explain how to proceed depending on the actions of the party that is protected.

Source:

1. Hg.org, www.hg.org/legal-articles/back-together-with-my-abuser-can-i-drop-an-order-of-protection-47090.

Also known as a restraining order, an order of protection is a document one obtains from a court with the purpose of preventing abusive behavior by ordering an individual not to have contact with you. They are filed depending on the relationship one has with the defendant and if a crime of domestic violence has taken place.

Arizona Protective Order Types

Arizona has many different kinds of protective orders:

• Release order of emergency order of protection
• Order of protection
• Injunction against workplace aggravation
• Injunction against provocation

Restraining orders are easy to obtain but one cannot be issued by a court unless evidence can be shown by the petitioning party that demonstrates there is a threat of abuse and that does not mean just physical abuse.

Restraining Orders That Are Unfair

A protection order can be obtained from the court without the court taking into account any outstanding issues. Therefore, the court will not hear the other side of the story until the court order has been issued. This can be exploited by using retraining orders as means to obtain favor from the court regarding issues such as divorce proceedings and custody hearings. Problems often arise when a restraining order prevents you from having access to your children or your own home. They can also appear on background checks, potentially having a negative impact when you are being considered for career positions. You will need to file a motion if you want the order to be terminated. During this process it is essential you do not violate the terms of the current order as that may weaken your case when it comes to going to court.

Fighting a Protective/Restraining Order

Restraining orders are valid for one year but it is possible to get a protective order dismissed or modified. During this time, you are allowed under law, one hearing on the order. For a hearing in the court that approved the restraining order you will have to file a written request. So, you can take action straight away when an order was obtained against you it is of paramount importance to know the timelines so you can contest the orders. Remember, not to violate the existing order even if you have filed. Fines and jail time may result and that will not help your chances going forward. Following that you need to obtain some objective proof. You need to prove that what you are being accused of could not have happened and/or did not happen, to the judge. Say, you were accused of harassing someone, phone records can indicate you were not calling them.

Finally, you will need an experienced Arizona defense attorney. A qualified lawyer can help you understand the laws regarding protective orders and assist in having them, dismissed, modified or changed.

“Here’s How to Contest an Order of Protection in Arizona: What to Know.” Jackson White Law, 23 July 2019, www.jacksonwhitelaw.com/criminal-defense-law/contest-order-protection-arizona/.