If you or someone you know is being abused, please continue reading this post. Also, feel free to call my office for a free consultation. I try to make it a priority to take your call immediately regardless of what I am working on. My office number (602) 300-6777 will reach my cell phone if I am out of the office. If I am not available when you call, I always try to call you back the same day; usually within an hour or so.
Obtaining an Order of Protection (or Injunction Against Harassment) is a rather simple thing. They seem to give them out VERY freely. However, keeping them in place following a challenge at a hearing can be tricky depending upon the quality of the drafting of the initial Petition seeking that Order or Injunction. You see, a legal concept known as “due process” requires that the Defendant have notice of the specific allegations that lead to the Order or Injunction. This concept limits the Plaintiff’s presentation of evidence at any hearing challenging the Order or Injunction to only those acts alleged in the Petition seeking the Order or Injunction. A lawyer can help you to get it right in the Petition (listing only relevant facts and all of the relevant facts) so that the Defendant will be far less likely to get it set aside at a hearing.
In addition to getting an Order of Protection or Injunction Against Harassment, there are a number of additional things that really should be done. Not the least of which is seeking additional information about domestic violence and possibly also getting counselling. Some very alarming statistics are set forth immediately below. There are also a number of helpful, informative links.
According to The National Domestic Violence Hotline, “Most female victims of intimate partner violence were previously victimized by the same offender, including 77% of females ages 18 to 24, 76% of females ages 25 to 34, and 81% of females ages 35 to 49.” http://www.thehotline.org/resources/statistics
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that: “The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.” http://www.ncadv.org/learn-more/statistics
I hope that you find this post helpful. If there is a different Family Law topic that you would like to see a similar post about, feel free to email me topic suggestions. Most of my posts come from recent cases that I have worked on that, for one reason or another, stuck in my head. I welcome your ideas.