Civil Harassment
An Overview of Civil Harassment Restraining Orders in California
Civil Harassment Restraining Orders work to safeguard those facing unreasonable harassment. With the help of Grace Legal Group, you may prevent someone from following you, making threats against you, harassing you, or abusing you. Contact Grace Legal Group so that either our Los Angeles County or Orange County Restraining Order Departments can assist you with your urgent matter.
You have the right to seek a civil harassment restraining order if you have been subjected to any of the following behaviors.
- Sexual Assault
- Violence
- Stalking
- Harassment
- Unwanted Communication
- Threats made toward you
- Stalking
- Harassment
Once the process is initiated by our team, two types of orders may be granted. A TRO, or temporary restraining order, and a permanent order.
- Permanent order: up to five years might pass before a permanent order expires. However, our attorneys may apply for renewal.
- Temporary restraining order: normally only lasts for a few weeks until the restraining order hearing occurs, when our attorneys will argue for a permanent order.
The following points are highlighted in this article by our criminal defense attorneys:
- What is a civil harassment restraining order? & what does a restraining order do?
- Who can be restrained?
- What qualifies as “harassment”?
- How long does the order last?
- Are there other types of restraining orders in California? & How does a person get one?
- What happens if a person violates a civil harassment restraining order?
What is a civil harassment restraining order? & what does a restraining order do?
In most cases, a protection order will shield a person from a third party’s violence or other harmful behavior. In further depth, a person is eligible to file for a civil harassment restraining order if the following conditions are met:
- He/she is being harassed, stalked, abused, or threatened by someone else, and
- The person is not in a close relationship with that party.
A restraining order does more than just tell the person who is being held to act in a certain way. Since a restraining order is a court order, if the person who is subject to it does anything against it, they could face serious consequences. You can seek the assistance and protection of law enforcement if you are harassed after obtaining a restraining order in the state of California, since restraining orders are entered into the database maintained by police enforcement in that state. The abuser will be arrested and charged.
Among other things, the restraining order can legally require the restrained person to:
- Cease any further interaction with you
- Keep your distance from me in public, at your place of employment, at your place of education, and at your home.
- Put an end to all forms of communication with members of your family.
- Not be a gun owner
- With a restraining order, you may be able to stop people from giving you unwanted and sometimes dangerous attention.
Who can be restrained?
It should be noted that the party who is protected by these orders is referred to as the “protected person.” The “restrained person” is the other party named in the order (the abuser).
To file a Civil Harassment Restraining Order, the person you want to restrain CAN NOT be:
- Your spouse, partner, or ex-spouse, partner, or ex-partner
- Someone you dated at some time
- Your spouse/partner or ex-spouse/partner
- Someone you dated at some time
Above mentioned persons require a Domestic Violence Restraining Order.
A civil harassment restraining order can be filed to protect you from:
- A friend, or someone you used to consider a friend
- A neighbor
- Someone else with whom you do not have a close relationship
- A family member more than two degrees removed, such as an uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, cousin, and more distant relatives
- Others with whom you are not closely related
When you get a restraining order, you must demonstrate that the person you want to keep away from you has injured you, threatened to do so, or harassed you in a manner that makes you feel uncomfortable or terrified (including stalking).
What qualifies as “harassment”?
California law defines “harassment” as any of the following:
- Behavior that irritates or harasses a protected party. (Aggravated Nuisance)
- Illegal violence (such as an assault or sexual assault).
- Threats of violence that are credible (or utterances that would put a reasonable person in fear of himself/herself or an immediate family member).
How long does the order last?
The preliminary restraining order that is granted soon after you file is called a temporary restraining order, and it will only be in effect until your court date. If the court does decide to impose a temporary restraining order, then you will still have the chance to get a permanent order at the hearing in a few weeks, the duration of such an order might range anywhere from six months to five years, depending on the circumstances.
Are there other types of restraining orders in California?
In addition to restraining orders against civil harassment, the state of California also has two additional forms of protective measures available for residents.
These are:
- Restraining orders for victims of domestic violence
- Restraining orders for victims of abuse of the elderly or dependent adults
- Restraining orders for victims of violence in the workplace
A person can ask for a domestic violence restraining order if:
- The person has been subjected to abuse at the hands of the confined party.
- The person is emotionally invested in the restrained party.
A person can ask for an elder abuse or dependent abuse restraining order if:
- The person is at least 65 years old or (between 18 and 64 years old and has certain mental or physical impairments) the person has been abused by a caregiver.
- The person has been a victim of abuse, neglect, bodily harm, or deprivation at the hands of a caregiver.
A person can ask for a workplace violence restraining order if:
- The individual is an employer.
- The individual desires to safeguard an employee from a serious threat of violence, urgent danger, or abuse at the workplace.
How does a person get one?
In California, the first steps in getting a protection order are to go to the courthouse and fill out the right paperwork. These are the following:
- Restraining order forms (CH-100)
- Applicable judicial council forms, and
- The CLETS-001 form, contains confidential CLETS information.
For questions on forms, interested parties can visit the court’s clerk’s office or a California court self-help center.
After completing all required forms, the individual submits them to the court clerk. After that, the paperwork is looked over by a judge, or commissioner, who then decides whether or not to grant a temporary restraining order. If it is issued, the order will typically remain in effect for 21 days.
After granting the temporary restraining order (TRO), the court will convene a hearing to decide whether it should issue a permanent restraining order (PRO). A “notice of court hearing” is required to be sent to the person who is being detained by a process server in advance of this hearing. In the court case, “evidence of service,” also known as “proof of personal service,” is required to be shown to the court. Our attorneys can help you with this process.
At the hearing, both the person asking for protection and the possible person who will be locked up should bring proof, such as police reports. If the evidence shows that the person who is being stopped should be protected from the person who is being stopped, the court will give the person who is being stopped a permanent civil restraining order.
The order then remains in effect for five years.
Call the attorneys at Grace Legal Group so you do not have to go into battle alone.
What happens if a person violates a civil harassment restraining order?
A person commits a crime under Penal Code 273.6 PC if he/she violates the terms of a restraining order.
A prosecutor must prove the following to convict a person under this law:
- A court issued a restraining order by law.
- The defendant was aware of the court order.
- The defendant was capable of complying with the court order.
- The accused intentionally disobeyed the court order.
A violation of a protective order is charged as a misdemeanor in most cases.
The offense is punishable by:
- Imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, and/or
- A maximum fine of $1,000.
Note though that this offense becomes a wobbler if:
- It is an accused’s second convictionfor the offense, and
- The violation came with an act of violence.
A wobbler is a crime that a prosecutor can charge as either:
- A misdemeanor, or
- A felony.
If charged as a felony, the offense is punishable by:
- Custody in a state prison for up to three years, and/or
- A maximum fine of $10,000.
The Grace Legal Group assists clients with Los Angeles, California restraining orders
Our Los Angeles restraining order attorneys can assist you in filing for the protection you need so that you may live your life without anxiety. Each client’s case is handled individually by the attorney, who first listens to their side of the story and then represents them in court. Do not go through the difficult and sometimes emotionally draining process of obtaining a restraining order on your own; instead, call our office right now if you are thinking about doing so.