Restraining Order

ORANGE COUNTY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDER ATTORNEY

Have You Been Served a Domestic Violence Restraining Order? Let the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti Help Get it Removed!

Domestic violence is a serious problem in our society, but if you feel you’ve been wrongly served a restraining order as a result of an alleged domestic violence action let the Orange County domestic violence defense attorneys at the Law Office of Michael L. Guisti help you get your life back on track.

Our Orange County Domestic Violence Restraining Order attorneys have successfully represented hundreds of domestic violence related restraining order cases in Irvine, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Westminster, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Tustin and many other cities in Orange County and Los Angeles County.

Police and the courts are very quick to act on any alleged reports of domestic violence and they’ve been many cases where the significant other exaggerates or out-right lies to authorities to restrain you from seeing your family and limiting your movement.

The Types of Restraining Orders

In California they’re two types of common restraining orders, the Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) and Civil Harassment Order for problems like stalking and harassing telephone calls from strangers.

The Domestic Violence Restraining Order

As our Orange County Domestic Violence Restraining Order Specialists explain, a person can file for a DVRO if they or their children have been the victims of domestic violence from, a spouse or former spouse, a person you are dating or used to date (even if it was a non-sexual relationship), a same-sex partner, the mother or father of the child or a person related to that person by blood, marriage, or adoption, including in-laws.

Emergency Protective Order

Once police respond to a domestic violence and they’re convinced some type of domestic violence occurred they will call a judge, regardless of the time, and ask that an emergency protective order be issued for the alleged victim immediately.

A judge usually issues an emergency protective order if there is an immediate and present danger of domestic violence and/or a child is in immediate or present danger of abuse or abduction by a parent or relative.

As an Irvine domestic violence lawyers at the Law Offices of Michael Guisti explains an emergency protective order only lasts five business days, which is designed to give the person time to go to court to ask for a DVRO, which lasts much longer. In the emergency protective order the judge can include most of the protections included in a regular DVRO, such as removing the you from the home and ordering you to have no contact with the alleged victim and giving the alleged victim temporary custody of your children.

Statistics show police and judges are more incline issue an emergency protective order if the alleged victim is a woman even if there is evidence to show you didn’t harm the other person and you pose no threat.

Temporary Restraining Order

According to an Irvine Domestic Violence Attorney at the Law Offices that it’s during these next five business days when the emergency protective order is in place that you need to contact an experienced Orange County domestic violence defense attorney who can prepare a case against your significant other applying for a DVRO.

The Irvine criminal attorney also explains that when the case is file the court clerk can issue a temporary restraining order until a formal court date is set, which is usually about three weeks, but our Orange County criminal lawyers can work to convince the court to allow you to have access to your children and other possessions until the formal court hearing.

DVRO Hearing

Whether or not your significant other is issued a temporary order, you will be scheduled to show up for a final DVRO hearing.

It’s at this hearing where our Orange County domestic violence lawyers will show the judge you were never a threat and will not be any kind of threat, and that no DVRO should be issued against you. We can show how having a DVRO can cause hardship for you by you not being able to see your children or have access to certain essential items.

Depending on the circumstances we can even show the judge how you’re in the process of moving out due to a divorce or break up and a DVRO will cause more hardship since you would be limited in seeing your children.

We can also show the court how you significant other fabricated the story that led to this moment.

As you can see they’re a lot of options available to you to contest having a DVRO against you. As our Fullerton Domestic Violence Defense Attorney at the Law Offices of Michael Guisti says, what you need to know is you shouldn’t go at this alone and hope to simply explain to the judge the situation, because domestic violence issues are very tricky and you may accidentally cause more problems for yourself in court, and that is why you must contact a professional Orange County domestic violence defense attorney.

After the hearing the judge will decide to either, decline the DVRO, grant the DVRO or grant the DVRO with certain provisions, according to the Fullerton criminal attorney.

If the judge grants a DVRO we will appeal the case.

It’s important to understand after the judge grants a DVRO the judge will issue either a no termination date, which means the DVRO will last three years from the date it was issued, or the judge will issue a “restraining order after hearing” that lasts up to five years.

The significant other can later ask the judge to have the order extended for another five years, or permanently without having to prove any further abuse.

Remember, you always have the right to appeal this decision at anytime.

What a DVRO Does

If a DVRO has been issued against you it’s important to understand what it does and how it will affect your movement.

According to the Irvine Domestic Violence Attorney at the Law Offices of Michael Guisti that a DVRO prevents a suspect from further causing any domestic violence to the victim by forbidding the suspect to assault, threat, abuse, follow, stalk, sexually assault, destroy the property of, come within a certain distance of, disturb the peace of, harass or make contact (directly or indirectly) on the telephone to the victim.

In addition to preventing domestic violence from reoccurring the DVRO can also grant the alleged victim exclusive care, possession, or control of any child or animal owned or held by either you or your significant other and orders you to stay away from and not harm the animal.

The judge may make decisions over child custody and visitation rights in the DVRO by deciding where the children will live, which parent will make decisions affecting the children, and how the children will spend time with each parent, including where and what time the visits will take place and if they’re supervised or not. The Irvine Domestic Violence Defense Attorney added.

A new law that took effect in 2011 states any order for custody, visitation, or support that is made within your DVRO will continue to be effective even when the DVRO ends.

The judge could also order you by way of the DVRO to be removed from the home you both live in together even if you don’t own the home or you aren’t the tenant.

Furthermore, the Irvine domestic violence attorney continued that the judge could state in the DVRO that you’re prohibited from possessing or purchasing a gun, order you to pay child support and spousal support grant your significant other temporary possession of things that you own together such as a home, a car, or a computer, along with ordering the suspect to pay ongoing debts associated with those items.

The DVRO order can even order you to pay you back money to the significant other for missing work or other expenses, such as ambulance, medical, dental, shelter and legal fees that resulted from the alleged domestic violence.

As you can see, having a DVRO placed against you restricts your movement, takes away your right to see your family and can even cost you money, and that is why you need to contact and set up an appointment with a professional Orange County domestic violence defense lawyer who can help you gain your freedom back.

How an Orange County Attorney Can Help

Whether you are facing domestic violence, restraining order, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual abuse, criminal threat, assault and battery, harassment, annoying phone calls or any type of criminal charge, our skilled Orange County criminal attorneys will do all we can to protect you and help you.

We understand you’re going through a difficult time, but as our first piece of legal advice to you, we stress if you have a DVRO or some type of order against you that you comply with that order no matter how wrong it may seem. By violating the order, even if you feel it’s justified, you’re breaking the law and it becomes much more difficult for us to convince the judge you’re really a good person and there is no need for this DVRO.

We know this is a tough time for you and your family, but rest assure Orange County domestic violence defense experts at the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti will guide you through the legal process and see to it your freedom is restored.