Names for Restraining Orders and What They Mean

These are the varieties of restraining order available in California alone.

Among the many obstacles to establishing coherent opposition to the injustice of restraining orders is that laws vary from state to state, as do definitions for the offenses said to justify restraining orders, among which are harassment, stalking, and domestic violence. Even what a restraining order is called in one state may differ distinctly from the phrase another state uses. Two victims of false allegations who reside in separate states may not be aware that they’re complaining of abuse of (and by) what’s essentially the identical process.

(The same, of course, is true of victims of malicious prosecution who reside in different countries. Restraining orders in the United Kingdom, for instance, are called anti-social behaviour orders or injunctions, barring orders, non-molestation orders, or safety orders. In Canada, they’re called peace bonds—as they are in some jurisdictions here. Restraining orders issued by tribal governments in the States are called tribal orders or injunctions. And last year it was proposed that the EU establish “restraint orders.” Notable is the ubiquity of the restraining order process, which extends to many corners of the globe and continues to enjoy social acceptance and approval despite its gross abuses.)

A civil restraining order issued in the U.S. will go by one of the designations below (or its close approximation) according to the state from which it originated, the particular allegations made by its petitioner (or plaintiff), the relationship of the petitioner to the respondent (or defendant), and/or the stage of its prosecution. The generic terms civil injunction, court order, order of the court, and the court’s order may be used alternatively to any of the following in a courtroom or in legal documents:

  • abuse prevention order
  • anti-harassment protective order
  • automatic temporary restraining order (ATRO)
  • civil harassment restraining order
  • civil protection order (CPO)
  • domestic abuse protection order
  • domestic violence protection order
  • domestic violence restraining order
  • emergency domestic abuse protection order
  • emergency protection order (EPO)
  • emergency protective order
  • emergency protective order for stalking and sexual assault
  • harassment preventive order
  • harassment restraining order
  • indefinite temporary restraining order
  • injunction against abuse
  • injunction against child abuse
  • injunction against harassment
  • injunction against workplace harassment
  • injunction for protection
  • injunction for protection against domestic violence
  • injunction for protection against repeat violence/dating violence/sexual assault
  • judicial order
  • juvenile restraining order
  • magistrate’s order for emergency protection
  • military protective order
  • misconduct restraining order (MRO)
  • mutual no-contact order
  • no-contact order
  • order for emergency relief
  • order for protection (OFP)
  • order of protection (OOP)
  • peace bond
  • peace order
  • permanent restraining order (PRO)
  • personal protection order (PPO)
  • plenary civil no-contact order
  • plenary order of protection
  • protection from abuse order (PFA)
  • protection from harassment order
  • protection order (PO)
  • protection order for stalking and sexual assault
  • protective injunction
  • protective order
  • relief from abuse order (RFA)
  • restraining order (RO)
  • restraining order against harassment
  • restraining order against stalking and harassment
  • stalking injunction
  • stalking personal protection order
  • stalking protection order
  • stalking protective order
  • temporary emergency restraining order
  • temporary restraining order (TRO)
  • victim protective order (VPO)
  • violence prevention restraining order
  • violence restraining order (VRO)

The statutes (laws) that define each, along with the prescribed duration, prohibitions, and threatened penalty or penalties for violation may be found here (prepared by the National Center on Protection Orders) and/or here (prepared by the American Bar Association).

Restraining orders may also be criminal. Such restraining orders, called criminal restraining orders or mandatory restraining orders (MROs), are issued by the court in conjunction with criminal cases. See this page prepared by a Denver attorney for explanations of what criminal restraining orders signify and how they may be vacated.

Copyright © 2014 RestrainingOrderAbuse.com

28 thoughts on “Names for Restraining Orders and What They Mean”

  1. I just hired an attorney to file for an appeal against a civil, 3 year temporary protective order that has been issued against me. Between paying for the attorney who represented me in the proceeding, paying for a court reporter, paying to have the court proceeding transcribed and now paying for a different attorney that has gone over my case and is in the process of writing and filing for a discretionary appeal, I’m already out about $8,500. That is a substantial amount for me, so I’m trying to find out as much as I can because IF my appeal is granted, it will then cost me another $2,000-$3,000 to have the brief written to the Court of Appeals and I really can’t afford to waste any more money if there isn’t a fairly good chance of having the order revoked. After reading some of the previous posts on here, I’m already feeling like the roughly $6,000 I’ve already spent on the court reporter, transcription, appeals attorney and filing fee, is a waste of money despite both of the attorneys I’ve had working on my case telling me they believe there are issues for appeal.

    The basics of my case are that last year a 1 year temporary order (civil stalking, no abuse, no violence, not even any personal contact. I also have no violent or criminal history) was issued against me (state of Georgia) that was petitioned for by an ex-girlfriend. I made the mistake of not having legal representation at that time but with the particular judge that presided over the hearing, I’m not sure it would’ve made much difference. At that time, in addition to the normal T.P.O. conditions of no contact of any kind, no attempt at contact, not allowed to possess any firearms, etc., the judge added the condition that I was not allowed to write, publish or post anything regarding the petitioner, our past relationship or anything about the proceeding involving the T.P.O. I immediately took issue with those extra orders due to the fact that they prohibited my right to freedom of speech and expression regarding issues of my own life. I fully understand the laws regarding libel and slander but this order wasn’t issued just to keep me from making/posting false statements about the petitioner. It forbid me to express my personal opinions, feelings, beliefs even if true, even if I expressed them as my personal opinions, feelings and beliefs. I firmly believe that was an over reach of the judges authority and a violation of my constitutional rights. Both of the attorneys that have worked on my case agree.

    Anyway, about 11 months goes by and there was no contact, no attempt at contact of any sort at all. About a month before the 1 year T.P.O. was set to expire, to my complete surprise, I was served with notice that the petitioner had filed to make the temporary order a permanent order. in the petitioner’s own words, the reason she was seeking to make the order permanent was simply that “she believes that I still have thoughts/feelings about her”. The only evidence she even gave to support that belief were a few Facebook posts I had made at various times that never named her or referenced any ex-girlfriend at all. In fact the main one she tried to use was simply a statement I made regarding my opinion on several current sociopolitical issues. It was intentionally vague and broad because it expressed my view on several issues that I believe are somewhat interrelated. This time I hire an attorney and he does a good job. He brought up grounds that made the few Facebook posts the petition tried to use as evidence inadmissible because the petitioner does not even have a Facebook account and cannot and did not even see them herself but had them “brought to her attention by others”. Since we do not share any common friends, I believe she intentionally had others look at my page to try and find something. So there was no evidence suggesting that I could be even the slightest “threat” and when asked by the judge if she had seen me or if I had tried to contact her in any way over the past year, she answered no. He also provided case rulings which state the act of simply writing about someone, even if their name is given, which I did not do, does not constitute harassment or stalking. The judge took a short recess to go over the cases he presented and despite claiming she was unaware that the restrictions she imposed in the initial T.P.O. were not legal and stating that she does not agree with the standards ruled on as to what constitutes “stalking” or “harassment”, she openly thanked my attorney for “educating” her by bringing those rulings to her attention. However, even after ruling that the few pieces of evidence that supposedly were the cause for the petitioner to seek a permanent order were inadmissible and after learning that had they been admissible, they did not even come close to constituting harassment or stalking, she went ahead and issued a 3 year T.P.O. Yes, that is better than a permanent order but I don’t see how another order can be issued without any legal basis to show there is a need for one.

    Opinions?…please anyone

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    1. John, read the most recent posts on the blog about “prior restraints”…and contact Matthew today. See:

      https://restrainingorderabuse.com/2015/11/15/if-a-judge-has-unlawfully-ordered-you-never-to-speak-or-write-about-someone-matthew-chan-wants-to-tell-your-story/

      You’re absolutely right, the “prior restraint” on your speech is solid grounds for an appeal (and count yourself lucky the judge crossed the line, because that’s one of the few firm bases for a successful appeal—“clear abuse of discretion”). Make certain your attorney is familiar with the writings and courtroom arguments of Profs. Aaron Caplan and Eugene Volokh, whose help s/he can recruit…and should.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/08/24/you-are-also-ordered-not-to-post-any-further-information-about-the-plaintiff/

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/09/amicus-brief-in-chan-v-ellis-where-a-judge-ordered-a-web-site-operator-to-remove-all-posts-about-a-particular-person/

      https://talkingback2restrainingorders.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/crimharass.pdf

      https://talkingback2restrainingorders.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/caplan-64-3.pdf

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      1. I know its far from over but my attorney notified me today that the Geoegia Court of Appeals has given us permission to appeal your case – the application for discretionary appeal was granted. This is just one part of the legal battle but I really had a feeling my application for an appeal would be denied. It still could go either way but I’m hoping the fact that the panel found something in my case that warrants consideration by the appeals court. I won’t be getting overly confident though. Just because they found an issue, doesn’t mean it’s an issue that favors me. Just thought I’d share this information. We’ll see how it goes but my hope is to encourage more individuals who believe they have been a victim of restraining/protective order abuse or inappropriate/illegal action by a judge, to not let it go without a fight (legal fight). It certainly isn’t cheap and even after spending the time and money to contest an order, there’s no guarantee you’ll get the outcome you’re hoping for. But maybe, if the system can be overwhelmed with significant numbers of challenges, more attention will be brought to the many problems with the current system for seeking and acquiring these orders. More attention to an issue is often the necessary first step to change.

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        1. Did you talk with Matthew Chan? If you haven’t, do so right away. Besides everything else, he’s in your state, and his appeal can be mined for case law citations.

          You were swept up in something bewildering, so this may escape you, but the hyperlinks in my prior comment are HUGE.

          Contact Matthew.

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    2. I know , it leaves you scrathing your head! your situation is very similar to my own , same thing judge said I could not say anything , that was trial 1 , trial 2 she admitted to making up the dates that she said I followed her ..she admitted lying she attempted to mislead the court and the judge still gave her the case I was so pissed I was escorted out ..I could not believe it.i will never say “your honor” again because they have none .it is a big joke . I think at what point as a law man do you forget about integrity , honesty and justice ? and just make stupid rulings based on bullshit .

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  2. I have a restraining order you do not listed here… Indefinite Temporary Restraining Order.

    Dear Fellow Advocate, Blogger, Reporter:

    Although we’ve never met, I find your views and case (posted online) regarding our First Amendment freedoms and government abuse to be greatly similar to my own.

    It is for that reason I am contacting you. In short, I do not have a large national following and desperately need partners and supporters to share my story, which I assure you is a hidden treasure waiting to be told. It is a matter of great public interest, and the timing for generating mass public attention is now.

    In that regard, I ask for your partnership in distributing and promoting my story to the public. This story is about a government conspiracy originating from the FBI’s most dangerous city in the United States… Camden City, in the County of Camden, New Jersey. Camden is also one of the most politically corrupt counties in the U.S.

    See http://money.cnn.com/gallery/real_estate/2014/02/03/dangerous-cities/

    If this peaks your interest, please read on…

    For the last 3 years I’ve quietly sacrificed my life in exchange for a relentless pursuit of truth and justice. My strategy is to bring about a public awareness and possible investigation into the massive systematic abuse to Camden citizens. But, the strategy can only take hold if there is an equally massive attention brought to the matter. In an effort to shut me up, a judge issued an invalid restraint calling it an “indefinite temporary restraining order,” of which there is no law or regulating statute in the State of New Jersey.

    See http://erejproject.com (in the making)

    As a result of my pursuit, I am now homeless, indecent, I lost my business, my personal property was destroyed and/or stolen. This was inflicted upon me by the prosecutors in Camden in retaliation for exposing their misconducts and filing suit against Camden County. Out of fear of retaliation and strong political influences, no one reports anything bad about the Camden prosecutors.

    See https://dockets.justia.com/docket/new-jersey/njdce/1:2015cv04115/320490

    The physical evidence I collected against local attorneys, prosecutors, deputy attorney general, and judges is that of forgery, fraud, theft of property, evidence tampering and destruction, warrantless home searches, false arrests, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and an endless list of constitutional violations.

    One of the most egregious acts is the enslavement of an at-risk community (Camden citizens) to fund upper-class endeavors and rebuild Camden’s once known allure to high society. Funding such an endeavor can only be accomplished by manipulating the number of arrests and the County’s jail population, which the Office of the Prosecutor controls.

    See http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2014/08/10/camden-county-jail-overcrowded/13874379/

    Now, to suppress my speech and the promulgation of these details, the prosecutors in Camden have initiated a criminal charge against me; the charge is stalking by posting inflammatory YouTube videos for causing emotional distress, and the trial is pending nearing 3 years. The emotional distress alleged is that experienced by a woman (politically entwined with Camden County) whom I once dated. It was through her I learned of the corruption in Camden, and to which she was involved and named in the videos. Being exposed was something that distressed her, and ultimately crushed her political career.

    See http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%2020141231B06/STATE%20v.%20ARISTEO#

    The main website targeting this corruption was removed 2 years ago, and the majority of videos have been removed by YouTube because the prosecutors subpoenaed YouTube for my IP address. That subpoena triggered YouTube to pull the videos and protect its other users.

    Please let me know if you would help promote this matter, I have a short window of opportunity before a judge suppresses my ability to publicly release any information and evidence against officers of Camden.

    I would to discuss this further, and look forward to your response.

    p.s. I am a State certified teacher of mathematics and psychology, and I have practiced guerrilla marketing since the late nineties. I invite you to research my name, most of what you may find (recent postings) is disinformation used to mislead the prosecutors as I collected tracking evidence against them by using Google Analytics.

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    1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/08/24/you-are-also-ordered-not-to-post-any-further-information-about-the-plaintiff/

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/09/amicus-brief-in-chan-v-ellis-where-a-judge-ordered-a-web-site-operator-to-remove-all-posts-about-a-particular-person/

      http://jonathanturley.org/2014/01/20/federal-court-bloggers-have-same-first-amendment-rights-as-journalists/

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian_Finance_Group,_LLC_v._Cox

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      1. Actually, in all of NJ only Camden County issues these as a means to control a plaintiff who repeatedly files and then dismisses DV complaints. This usually happens when there is no evidence against the defendant and the judge cannot issue an FRO. God forbid the judge should sanction the plaintiff. Ultimately, higher courts won’t review the case under appeal because there is no final judgement.

        In my case, it’s been over two years since the indefinite was issued, and after multiple attempts to have it dismissed, I realized having it dismissed was the wrong path to take. I recently filed a motion to fully adjudicate the matter, which is statutory law because a temporary restraint has a life expectancy until a full hearing. Of course the issuing judge denied the motion, but I expected and wanted the denial. I even got the judge to say the indefinite is a final order. Now, I can present this case to the higher courts.

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        1. It’s dumbfounding.

          Good for you. All of this sounds like it was lifted from a Joseph Heller novel. For two years you’ve fought an order of the court that’s called “indefinitely temporary.” You can’t even make sh*t like that up.

          If your case corresponds with the cases in the links, B., consider emailing Prof. Volokh.

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    3. A former attorney who uses the alias “Joel Bond Gunch” and comments here is someone who might be qualified and willing to review your case, Bruce, and offer some thoughts on it (his most recent comment, which you could reply to, is here. His name is Larry.). Matthew Chan, who has commented on many posts in the past and is the topic of several, might also be willing to advise you (go to the Index of Posts, press CNTRL-F and search for his name). It may be the case that Eugene Volokh would take an interest. That might depend, for example, on the nature of the videos or on the availability of the appellate process to you two years later. The criminal charge may or may not be an obstacle. For all I know, it’s a point of access. I’m out of my depth.

      My energies are limited, but I would consider hosting your story if that’s your interest. You would know better than I whether this would put you at further risk of prosecution. So long as I’m just quoting what you report, the liability is yours. I’m shielded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. You, however, would be responsible for what you said. Alternatively, I could communicate your story without using anyone’s name, but this might be of little value to you.

      I can’t really track emails anymore, but if you give me an idea of what you seek, I may be able to help.

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    1. Chester, would you like to post your story here? It would be good to hear a version of what you linked to that had first-person, “human interest” details. I think it would anchor it more. The other account is very rangy and abstract.

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  4. My husband’s ex (my stepdaughter’s mother) recently tried to file an order for protection for stalking. She said that I harassed her a cyber bullied her. Its completely bogus, she lied in her statement. The judge denied the temporay injunction due to a lack of evidence and no threat of harm. There is a hearing scheduled. My question, do cases where the judge denied a temporay injunction ever end up being permanent after the hearing. We are hiring an attorney. I also have proof that her statement is full of lies. Also, is there any retaliation for me?

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    1. If the court has consented to give this woman a further hearing, then I guess what you’re concerned about is a possibility, yes. If the court weren’t willing to give the accuser more time to make a case, it probably wouldn’t be inviting her back.

      1. Having an attorney is your best shot at simply getting this tossed out and impressing upon the accuser that you’re prepared to fight back. These kinds of accusations, once they work, open the door for years of fraudulent abuse of process and authorize the accuser to tell anyone you’re a stalker (and anything else she want to make up). If you nip this in the bud, on the other hand, then a false allegation to CPS or another false restraining order petition two months from now looks questionable (which doesn’t mean it woudn’t still tug at the seams of your life).

      2. However the court rules, it won’t necessarily stop this woman from turning around and doing the same thing again. You might talk to your attorney and your husband about this, that is, about how to defuse the situation.

      3. Lack of evidence of threat of harm often doesn’t matter. Bear that in mind. It definitely helps that you’re female (you’re not as readily considered “dangerous”). If you were a man accused by a woman on the same evidence (or even lack thereof), who knows? Appreciate that no “proof” of anything is required. The court rules according to its discretion.

      4. Pointing out lies should help discredit the accuser. Don’t depend on them to, though, because the court doesn’t need to be sure someone’s being honest to hand them a restraining order; it just has to decide that there’s a reason for her to feel afraid or harassed. Be prepared, too, for this woman to lie (especially since she may realize only lying will work).

      Technically, Heather, you should be able to file a lawsuit 10 minutes after the hearing alleging defamation, harassment, infliction of emotional distress, fraud, and on and on. The court isn’t very sympathetic, though, to damage claims like this. It might award you your costs, but I have yet to hear that someone recovered for pain and suffering (even when it’s years in duration).

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      1. Here is a story about a man who was falsely accused of a violent sexual assault (including rape, burning the “victim” with matches, etc.), was imprisoned for months, and was a local big shot, besides (a senior officer of a bank). He was awarded his travel and legal expenses ($55,000). This man could have faced five life sentences in prison based on the false allegations. The district prosecutor nevertheless declined to pursue perjury charges against his accuser. The story says the man intended to sue…but there’s no follow-up. (Here is a longer version of the story in the L.A. Times with all of the ugly details.)

        Here is a story about a woman who was awarded $1,000,000 because a local radio station called her a “porn star.”

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  5. So this is my situation, I am a MA resident, ex girlfriend took out an abuse prevention order, 10 day hearing date arrived, she didnt show, was told that i would be informed if she attended and to return to court, if not call the clerks office to verify the order was terminated. I called and confirmed the order had been terminated at 4PM. An hour later the local police served me for another abuse prevention order this time filed out of a neighboring district court and was filed at 2:33 that day, so im just curious if its legal to file another abuse prevention order while a previous abuse prevention order for the same person is still active?

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    1. I’ve heard of people having multiple restraining orders against a single person concurrently (applied for in different jurisdictions, as in your case). Defendants who report this say the motive is malice (meanness, jealousy, or revenge). You could hunt through your state’s statutes or consult a Massachusetts benchbook on protection orders to see if there’s a rule that says two orders can’t be in effect at the same time. You might also be able to question whether the judge who signed the second order had jurisdiction to do so since there was still a different temporary order active. A quick call to a local attorney might tell you. My guess, though, is there’s no legal conflict.

      Here’s what the California court system has to say about multiple (concurrent) restraining orders:

      It is not uncommon to have more than one type of Protective Order. A party may seek a restraining order in family law or civil even when there is a Criminal Protective Order. Tell the judge and the District Attorney if you have another restraining order. The Criminal Protective Order takes precedence over other conflicting orders. That means if the criminal order is different from another restraining order, it will supersede any other orders as the primary order that must be obeyed. FOR EXAMPLE: If the family law order allows contact and the criminal order states “no contact,” then the parties are not allowed to have contact.

      The rules in this arena are always stupider than you could imagine them to be.

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  6. I have a domestic serves a day after my case dismiss the man had me 1st arrested supposely simple slapped so the police wrote, but he gave a fake name has using someones identidy, Next day he goes to court for an proctection injusntion on me once again with his true/real name because he been exposed. But this judge put a hearing date. This judge has no idea what this man done. What should I do to protect me. From all the lies, and filing the same thing that I slapped him but with another name.

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    1. Hi, Julie.

      Do I have it right that you were falsely imprisoned, and the case was dismissed? First, if you were incarcerated on a false allegation, and the case hasn’t been dismissed, you should tell your public defender, who would probably move to dismiss the case based on the plaintiff’s falsely identifying himself. If I understand you right and the “slap” charge was dismissed, keep that phrase false imprisonment in mind, because it’s probably something you’ll want to bring up in court. It’s one thing to lie about someone; it’s another thing when the lie results in that person’s being arrested.

      If you can afford an attorney, start calling around first thing Monday. If you can’t, you should definitely attend the scheduled hearing and make the situation plain to a judge. You would probably want to explain to the judge what this man’s motives are: malice, revenge, or whatever.

      You could go to the police precinct where you were detained and get a copy of the police report. Maybe the man made a written statement or signed the statement an officer took down, and you could use the man’s handwriting against him if it matched the handwriting on the restraining order application that he obtained under a different name. (If the match were obvious, I think a judge would consider that without your needing a handwriting expert.)

      Phrases you might investigate are identity fraud, using an assumed name, false imprisonment, and false reporting.

      Check your state’s harassment statutes, also. Google your state + harassment laws. If your state’s laws are like mine, filing false allegations with the police is harassment. It’s also criminal. Only the district attorney can prosecute false reporting, but you could allege harassment, false reporting, and false imprisonment in an application for a restraining order of your own.

      Some states don’t allow defendants on restraining orders to get “cross injunctions,” meaning you might not be able to apply for a restraining order of your own using the same case number as the restraining order against you. You should, though, be able to apply for a restraining order against your harasser by opening a new case.

      Let me be clear that I’m not an attorney. I’m just spit-balling. If you can swing the costs of representation or at least afford to consult with an attorney and get some pointers, by all means do. Maybe a friend or relative could help you with costs. You want to shut this down and hard, because malicious litigants can chew through months or years of your life if they’re not exposed. Really devoted ones can enlist friends and relatives to bully you, too, or manipulate strangers into testifying for them. People are easily duped by persuasive liars.

      You can’t get into trouble for applying for a restraining order of your own. The only thing you absolutely don’t want to do is communicate with the person you’ve been prohibited from contacting. As long as a restraining order against you is in effect, take its proscriptions very seriously. Do everything on the up and up. It’s perfectly okay for you to go to the police department or the courts, to talk to an attorney, or to get the help of others who could testify on your behalf (friends, family, etc.). Just don’t talk to the guy who applied for the order, and take care not to let him trick you into violating it. This is a common ploy. Accusers claim they want to “work things out,” and then they call the police after setting the hook.

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  7. In 2006 my former spouse remarried a psychologist (his 3rd wife, Í’m the first) Soon after they married, they began to petition the courts for full custody of our 3 children. During custody hearings my ex filed filed a request for a retraining order 3 separate times in family law court. None were awarded. It was simply a ploy to improve their chance for custody. Today I went for an interview for a CCW permit and discovered this his 3rd wife(the psychologist) had filed her own request for a restraining order against me and a TRO was awarded. I was unaware of this as I was never notified of the hearing nor served papers. This occurred in 2006. I have never had more than 5 minutes of contact with this woman in my life and all of it was in the court room during our custody proceedings. Any idea how I can get this removed as fraudulent. For the record both are sociopaths. I never had an issue with his 2nd wife.

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    1. If there’s a record, I guess you’ll want to move the court to vacate the order (if it’s not already vacated) and expunge/seal the record. Protocols will vary some from state to state, like the names of these injunctions do.

      What state are you in?

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      1. I live in CA. I was told it was no longer in force. Regardless, it was humiliating but thankfully I dodged a bullet intended for me. I have no doubt the end goal was to see me in handcuffs and behind bars for violating a TRO that I had no idea existed. The irony is after 10years of marriage and all the effort they spent trying to emotionally destroy me, their divorce was final this month.

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        1. What does it tell you that Google returns exactly five results for this search term: “restraining order expungement” california?

          Five.

          An attorney could walk you through the steps for applying for vacation and expungement of the record for less than s/he would charge to do it for you. Or you could just file a motion to be granted a hearing and talk to a judge yourself.

          Basically (as I understand it—and my knowledge is limited), what you’d be arguing is that a judge had no jurisdiction to make the restraining order “permanent,” because you were never notified of the order. The legal requirement of service was never satisfied. The order is therefore “void.”

          Here are a couple pages on void judgments that I came across yesterday (and that someone went to some pains to assemble):

          “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Void Judgments but Were Afraid to Ask!”

          “Twenty-two reasons to vacate a Void Judgment”

          An alternative approach would be to request a new trial on the grounds that you were never afforded an opportunity to address the court, were never informed of the order issued against you, and barely knew the petitioner of the order.

          A second alternative, probably not available, would be to get the cooperation of the petitioner.

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        2. See also: “Vacating a void judgment in California”

          “A judgment is void if the court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter or parties, for example, if the defendant was not validly served with summons.” Neumann v. Melgar (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 152, 164.

          A “default judgment” would have been entered against you, because you never responded to the order (that you didn’t know about).

          “Default judgment is a binding judgment in favor of either party based on some failure to take action by the other party. Most often, it is a judgment in favor of a plaintiff when the defendant has not responded to a summons or has failed to appear before a court of law” (Wikipedia).

          See here, too:

          CAL. CCP. CODE § 527.6 : California Code – Section 527.6

          (m) Upon the filing of a petition for an injunction under this section, the respondent shall be personally served with a copy of the petition, temporary restraining order, if any, and notice of hearing of the petition. Service shall be made at least five days before the hearing. The court may for good cause, on motion of the petitioner or on its own motion, shorten the time for service on the respondent.

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    2. The surest way to get this off your back would be with a lawyer’s help. I have no idea, for example, whether you would have to prove that you were never notified of the order.

      Judges aren’t stupid, but they are lazy. Much of what a judge does involves doing what s/he’s told. Attorneys (who are also “officers of the court”) boss judges around easily. I’ve even seen attorneys throw tantrums and watched judges indulge their every whiny little whim(per).

      By contrast, to quote a legal assistant I know, “Judges hate pro ses.” A pro se is someone who represents him- or herself.

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