A protection order is something someone accusing another of a domestic violence charge will place at the time of the incident or shortly thereafter. There are a variety of protection orders in Virginia the most common of which are an Emergency Protective Order (EPO), a preliminary protective order or a Permanent Protective Order (PPO), also known simply as PO or protective order.
An emergency protective order typically accompanies a warrant of arrest for a crime of domestic violence. A preliminary protective order is given shortly after the emergency protective order ran out and it comes upon petition of a party seeking a protective order, typically the accuser of the domestic violence. After someone has been issued a preliminary protective order, which usually lasts up to two weeks, then the injured party may seek the court to grant them a permanent protective order for a period of time up to two years. The permanent protective order is serious as it can have implications on someone’s career, housing, and other collateral consequences, thereby making it important an experienced Arlington defense attorney is consulted.
A restraining order is often a civil request preventing someone from doing something, and the court is typically not going to order a restraining order. In order for protection, a protection order in Arlington is essentially a no-contact order which also includes initial sanctions, which means no contact, directly or through third parties. It also includes prohibitions against being in certain places, talking to certain people, or doing certain things. It also prevents individuals from harming others through their inaction.
A protective order is modified, changed, or extended only through a court order. A court must issue a new protective order that replaces the old protective order and that is typically done through agreement of the parties and presentation of evidence. There are a wide variety of reasons.
A preliminary protective order is an order of protection that lasts for a set duration of time, typically up to two weeks, until a larger hearing can be heard. Typically, a preliminary protective order is issued on an ex-parte basis, which means it is heard and granted by the judge who hears evidence and special testimonies simply from one side before making that initial determination.
If, after a petition and the presentation of ex parte evidence, the judge feels there is a probable cause or preponderance of the evidence that there is a true and genuine need for an order of protection, the judge will grant the preliminary protective order. Typically, judges err on the side of caution and more often than not grant the preliminary protective order when the facts of the case are in dispute.
When making decisions to grant or not grant a preliminary protective order, judges follow the law as well as their instincts on the believability and truthfulness of the party seeking the protective order and the reason for their request. Due to their experience in similar matters, they can grant a variety of different forms of relief.
A preliminary protective order lasts until it is replaced by a permanent protective order or until the period it is issued for expires. A preliminary protective order has a date issued and the date it expires. Typically, an emergency protective order will last up to 72 hours or three days while a preliminary protective order will last for up to two weeks. A preliminary protective order does not necessarily affect the person’s criminal case. However, it may have an impact on some inquiries made during the critical process.
A preliminary protective order can be extended either by agreement of the parties or by court order, a preliminary protective order can be extended. The extension of a civil protective order does not affect a criminal case but it does leave someone under certain restrictions, such as contacting whoever submitted the order.
Good cause means that the party has shown a need for the order of protection. Good cause shown is the standard for the issuance of the initial protective order and the party must show that they are in reasonable apprehension of continuing bodily injury or harm and they need the issue of protection or protection for being safe. In evaluating whether or not the party showed good cause, the judge uses her experience in similar matters as well as her judgment of the facts presented by the party seeking the order of protection.
A civil protective order is an order prohibiting contact with certain people or requiring a person to do certain things. A civil protective order can last for up to two years.
The civil protective order is issued in a number of ways. An emergency protective order is typically issued by a magistrate upon presentation of a warrant or upon presentation of probable cause that an incident of abuse has occurred. A preliminary protective order is issued by a judge during an ex-parte hearing or after review of an affidavit. Then, a full protective order is issued out by a judge after hearing on the matter or by agreement of the parties.
A civil protective order typically requires a person not to do something rather than to typically do something, but it can require some affirmative action. Affirmative action would be to do things like keeping the lights on, granting exclusive use of or possession of a person’s residence or automobile, or participating in various requirements.
A civil protective order cannot hurt someone who has been criminally charged with a crime. The civil order does not have an impact on a criminal case. However, certain civil cases where it does have some implications including temporary restrictions against a person’s liberty as well as temporary prohibitions on something like possessing firearms or ammunition. The various protective orders are serious in their potential consequences, and so it is important an Arlington defense attorney is consulted in these cases.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
