Family & Safety
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When an Order of Protection petition is filed by a reporting party alleging domestic violence (petitioner), the alleged abuser (respondent) must receive notice of the case and information about the upcoming hearing. Learn more about Responding to an Order of Protection case common questions.
The respondent should carefully review the documents they receive, including:
- The Petition for Order of Protection
- The Emergency Order of Protection (if one was obtained), and
- Any supporting statements and accusations
The Petition for Order of Protection is what the petitioner is asking the judge to grant at the upcoming hearing. The Emergency Order of Protection, however, has been granted if the respondent is receiving it. The judge can grant this without a hearing where the respondent is present. The respondent must immediately follow the Emergency Order of Protection, or they may be subject to criminal charges, fines, or jail time.
The order will give the reasons why the judge granted it. It will list:
- Exactly what the respondent is prohibited from doing (for example, not contacting someone, not posting about someone, not being permitted at a residence, etc).
- A future court date, usually in a week or two, and whether that court date is in person or via Zoom.
If the respondent wants a quicker court date, they can go to court and file a Petition to Rehear the Emergency Order of Protection. This will get a court date much sooner.
At this point, the respondent has two options:
Option 1: Do not go to court
The alleged abuser (respondent) can choose to do nothing if they have received notice that the reporting party (petitioner) has filed for an Order of Protection against them. They can decide whether or not to go to the court date and argue their side. It is not against the law not to show up.
However, if the respondent does not attend the court hearing, then the judge will decide the case based only on what the petitioner says. The respondent will still have to follow the final Order of Protection decided in the case, even if they did not go to the hearing.
Option 2: Respond to the court papers and participate in the court case
The alleged abuser (respondent) can show up in court on the date mentioned in the papers they received. On that date, the respondent can tell the judge if they are willing to agree to the Order of Protection or not. Sometimes, the respondent is willing to agree to the Order of Protection if certain changes are made to the order. The respondent can let the judge know this, and the judge can ask the reporting party (petitioner) if they agree or not.
The respondent can also tell the judge they plan to hire a lawyer and ask for more time to do so.
If the alleged abuser (respondent) does not agree to the Order of Protection the case will be scheduled for a hearing. At the hearing, the reporting party (petitioner) and the respondent will tell their sides of the story to the judge. The petitioner will go first, testifying about the abuse to show that the Order of Protection is needed. After the petitioner is done, the respondent will have a chance to present their side of the story. The respondent can bring evidence such as witnesses, text messages, and voicemails to support their testimony.
There is no right to a jury trial or to a lawyer in this type of case.
After hearing both sides, the judge will decide whether or not to grant a Plenary Order of Protection against the alleged abuser (respondent), which can last up to two years. The judge may do this right away, or may make a decision after a break. The break could take only a few hours or it could take up to a few weeks.
While waiting for a decision by the judge, the reporting party (petitioner) can ask the judge to extend the existing Emergency Order of Protection or Interim Order of Protection. If granted, the respondent will have to continue following the order.
