Tag Archive for: Domestic Violence

How to File for a Temporary Restraining Order in DC

Need to File a Temporary Restraining Order in the District of Columbia?

In the District of Columbia, you file a Petition for a Restraining Order at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Civil Actions Branch, 500 Indiana Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 2001, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If you proceed at this point Pro-Se (without representation of counsel) you would complete a Motion Form (available at the Civil Actions Branch Office) for a “Temporary Restraining Order”.

Scheduling Your Temporary Restraining Order Hearing

Upon filing of your motion, the Civil Actions Branch will provide you or your attorney with a Summons and Notice of Hearing (with a specific date and time) that must then be served upon the Defendant. This may be served by anyone over 18 years of age, except you, because you are a party to the action.

The court will set a hearing on your motion for a TRO at a specific date and time. Even if you request an emergency hearing on the same date that you file your Motion for TRO or shortly thereafter, the court will most likely not grant the hearing at the time requested unless (1) you have provided the Defendant notice of such hearing (that the court finds satisfactory), (2) the Defendant appears at court for the hearing and (3) the Defendant consents to the hearing.

/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

DC Restraining Orders

In domestic violence cases in the District of Columbia, when the abuser is someone who is or has NOT been related to you somehow or a member of your household, you file for a “Restraining Order”.

You would specifically file a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) or Motion for Temporary and Preliminary Injunction and a Request for Emergency Hearing. However, you may apply for a Preliminary Injunction without first obtaining or seeking a TRO.

Victims of stalking, sexual assault, or sexual abuse are exempted from having to follow the above process for a Restraining Order and may proceed under the Intrafamily Offense/Domestic Violence Branch Process  even if they are NOT related to or in the same household as the abuser.

/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

Filing for a Temporary Protective Order in DC

To obtain a Protective Order in the District of Columbia complete a “Petition And Affidavit for Civil for Protective Order” .  You file it with the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Domestic Violence Unit, 500 Indiana Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 2001, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. However, if the court is closed the only location where you can file for a Temporary Protective Order is the Seventh District D.C. Metropolitan Police Station on Alabama Avenue, N.W.

The hearing for the Temporary Protective Order is “ex parte”, meaning that the court can grant you a Temporary Protective Order without the Respondent being present. The Temporary Protective Order, Notice of Hearing and Order to Appear are then served upon the Respondent, free of charge, by the D.C. Metropolitan Police.   If the person lives in Maryland or Virginia, service may also be free as part of an agreement between Washington, D.C. and the sheriff departments in the surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia.

The Temporary Protective Order issed by the Court will contain a date and time, fourteen (14 days later) on which you and the Respondent must show for an evidentiary hearing to determine if you qualify for a Final Protective Order.

/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

DC Temporary Protective Orders

In the District of Columbia, a Temporary Protective Order can order that the abuser:

  • Stop abusing you.
  • Stay away from you and to not try to contact you or harass you at your home, school, job, or the place where you may be staying, stay away from your child’s school, and from your family members’ homes.
  • Stay out of your house.
  • Leave the home where the two of you live, if you are married to the abuser, AND you were living with your abuser at the time of the abuse.
  • Leave the home if you are not married to the abuser, but were living with the abuser at the time of the abuse, AND your name is on the lease or deed for the house, OR you lived with the abuser.
  • The judge can also give you temporary custody of any children that you have with the abuser.
  • The judge can award temporary possession of any pet of the person eligible for relief or the respondent
/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

Intrafamily Offense in DC

To obtain a protective order in DC,  you must show that the respondent committed an “intrafamily offense” against you. An intra family offense is essentially any crime as defined under the D.C. Code. This is a broad list of crimes; however, the most applicable or common ones are the following:

  • Assault
  • An act that places a person in fear of imminent serious bodily harm
  • An act that causes serious bodily harm
  • Threats to do bodily harm
  • Threats to kidnap or injure a person or to damage his/her property
  • Rape or sexual offense
  • Attempted rape or sexual offense
  • Stalking
  • False imprisonment, such as interference with freedom, physically keeping you from leaving your home or kidnapping you.
/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

Who Is Eligible for a Civil Protection Order in Washington DC

If you are in Domestic partnership in DC, you have rights if you experience domestic abuse. You are eligible for a Civil Protection Order in Washington, DC if the alleged abuser is your current or former:

  • Spouse or domestic partner
  • Intimate or dating partner
  • Relative (by blood or marriage, domestic partnership, or adoption)
  • Housemate
  • Parent of a child of yours
  • Or is someone who is or was in a relationship with someone who you are or were in a relationship with.

But even if you are not in such a relationship, you may qualify for a Protective Order, if you are the victim of any of the following intra-family offenses: stalking, sexual assault, or sexual abuse.

/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

Domestic Violence Protection in DC

This next series of articles will deal with domestic violence protection in the District of Columbia.

In the District of Columbia you can file for a “Civil Protection Order” for protection from abuse from someone who is essentially a member of your family or household or otherwise related to you.

When the abuser is someone who is not related to you nor a member of your household you usually have to file for a “Restraining Order.”

/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

Maryland Temporary Protective Order

The Temporary Protective Order  for Maryland will contain a date and time (seven days later) on which you and the Respondent must appear for an evidentiary hearing to determine if you qualify for a Final Protective Order.

In order to grant a Final Protective Order, the Court must find that you have met your burden by a “preponderance of the evidence.”

This is slightly higher than the “reasonable grounds” standard for granting  an Interim or Temporary Protective Order.

/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

Maryland Interim and Temporary Protective Orders

An Interim or Temporary Protective Order can order that the abuser:

  • Stop abusing you.
  • Stay away from you and to not try to contact you or harass you at your home, school, job, or the place where you may be staying, stay away from your child’s school, and from your family members’ homes.
  • Stay out of your house.
  • Leave the home where the two of you live, if you are married to the abuser, AND you were living with your abuser at the time of the abuse.
  • Leave the home if you are not married to the abuser, but were living with the abuser at the time of the abuse, AND your name is on the lease or deed for the house, OR you lived with the abuser for at least 90 days within the past year.
  • The judge can also give you temporary custody of any children that you have with the abuser.
  • The judge can award temporary possession of any pet of the person eligible for relief or the respondent.
/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP

Who Is Eligible for a Maryland Protective Order?

You are eligible for a Maryland  Protective Order if you and the alleged abuser:

  • Are current or former spouses
  • Have lived together in an intimate relationship for at least 90 days during the past year
  • Are related by blood, marriage, or adoption
  • Are in a parent-child, or stepparent-stepchild relationship and have resided together for at least 90 days during the past year
  • Are in a caretaker-vulnerable adult relationship
  • Are the parents of a child together
  • Have had a sexual relationship within 1 year before the filing of the petition
/by Thyden Gross and Callahan LLP