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Our Law Office can advise and represent you in the filing and or defending your Restraining Order in Orange County. Our goal is to protect you and those you care about from any form of harassment. Whether you are the restrained party, the victim of domestic violence or just a parent trying to see their child our experienced attorneys can help with your temporary Restraining or permanent restraining order at in Orange County.
Whether you are the respondent or the petitioner in an emergency protective order, it is important to get an attorney is familiar with the family law and criminal law judges. The reason for this is that the hearings may come from both ends. You may face child custody issues from the family and criminal penalties from the Penal side.
If you were in Orange County then you will want to make sure the attorney is a regular at the Lamoreux justice center and regularly deals with criminal issues. Below are some information about Restraining orders in Orange County.
In addition to the Domestic Domestic Violence and Civil Harassment restraining order, there are also workplace violence and elder abuse orders.
Our Restraining Order Attorneys can help with Civil Harassment Restraining oders. Civil harassment restraining orders is almost like the opposite of the domestic violence order. They are for people who are not in a dating relationship. The restrained person can be neighbors or a person in the community. In order to a victim of abuse, there must be some credible finding a threat of violence, or some kind of annoyance issues that serves no other kind of purpose that a reasonable person would fear for their safety.
In cases where victims of abuse show a credible finding then the court will issue a protection order forbidding the restrained party from making contact with the victims of abuse and their families for the purpose of preventing further violence.
Domestic Abuse issues are not just criminal issues that end up at the (Santa Ana, Fullerton, Westminster, and Newport Beach Courthouse) where it is prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney Offfice. In addition, many restraining orders are just civil ones and not involve any type of abuse or claims of abuse. For example. neighbors and elder abuse.
The domestic relationship does not have to involve a marriage. People with dating relationships fall within the domestic violence party categories for the purpose of restraining orders. A rough rule of thumb would be that so long as there is an intimate relationship or sexual relationship and some kind of bodily injury then the judge will rule that there is domestic violence presumed.
As discussed below, the threshold for a domestic violence restraining order is different from that of a criminal court. The victim of abuse needs to only show a preponderance of the evidence to get the order. Often times this means a brief showing of the circumstances and an appearance of a credible threat that they would be harm again if the order was not granted.
If you have been the victim of domestic violence, you can either have a restraining order attorney represent you with filing and representing you at the restraining order hearing or do it yourself at the local courts. A professional is always recommended as an attorney will increase your likelihood of success with your case. However, we understand that funds may be limited. See the list/section below on how to get get a restraining order.
If you do it yourself at the local court then there is a self-help center with local forms. In addition, be sure you read this section. In addition, if you are the respondent or the person is restrained then you may request more time to get an attorney
If you do it yourself at the local court then there is a self-help center with local forms. In addition, be sure you read this section. In addition, if you are the respondent or the person is restrained then you may request more time to get an attorney
The process of a restraining order
How to File for a Restraining Order [STEPS]
Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders ( Form CH-100
CH-100 Confidential CLETS Information
The hearing will most likely take place at Orange County Superior Court Lamoreaux Justice Center. A judge will conduct the hearing and the witnesses and parties can testify at this hearing under oath. During this time it is important to have your witnesses in order. You should also let your witnesses (roomates/ bystanders) know your courtroom number and have them ready to go into the courtroom within a 5-minute call.
You may also want to issue subpoenas for your witnesses too and be familiar with at least some of the rules of evidence for your case. Such rules of evidence that are worth mentioning are the hearsay and forms of your question sections.
The burden of a restraining order is not high. One event can be explained in multiple ways. Unfortunately when it involves threats of violence, destroying personal property, or sexual assault against children a judge will almost always air on the side of caution before the initial hearing.
It’s important for the restrained person in this situation to take the proper steps to stop further legal consequences from happening. The most important thing is to not obey the order and not contact the party or the alleged victims. In situations where a divorce is imminent or there are children involved then they may want to start looking around at the local family law attorneys.
Although the burden of the restraining order is high, there are technical problems the protected party must overcome against the restrained party. The biggest technical issue to be overcome is the proper service of the initial forms. Improper service of the initial forms (IE wrong time of service, no proof of service, or missing (Notice of Court Hearing ( Form CH-109 Items), will create service issues. This is not fatal, but the result will be an additional hearing to give the protected party another chance to serve the paperwork.
If you find yourself in custody or in a heated exchange and almost facing criminal charges in one of the many domestic violence situations in Orange County then you need to consider the consequences of having a restraining order on you in Orange County.
A restraining order has many consequences especially if you a gun owner. It will affect your gun rights and you may have to relinquish your firearms and law enforcement will enter you into the CLETS system. The CLETS system is a law enforcement database and goes into your criminal record.
Although this starts out civil, the fallout of a restraining order can end up in criminal courts. This happens when there are violations of the protective order. The Orange County District attorney will file charges against the restrained person which results in another protective order. If there is an ongoing Family Law case then this will get more complicated as there are multiple layers of protective orders and a burecracy that needs to be untanglged.
If you are in Orange County and find yourself to be a restrained person because of a temporary restraining order with an upcoming hearing then there a few things you need to do.
The first and most important is to not contact the protected person. If the protected person is contacting you then you should not engage them. By doing so you will be in violation and will in annoying the judge and getting yourself into the law enforcement officers CLETS database early.
Contact means you should not call, text, or email. In addition, if the order lists their workplace then you should keep a distance from their employer as well.
“To the client, every angle is important, there’s a number of questions, and each person also has their own worries. Some will need a person to listen to them. At the end of the day, it’s more than just delivering legal results. I put 110% into every person I work with. I strive to make sure everyone knows what is going on and is kept in the loop as the case goes on. The practice of law is more than just getting the results in court.” -Hieu Vu
Have your case reviewed by Hieu Vu. It’s important to know what the prosecutors are planning do. Each case is different and every case needs a unique defense strategy.
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