Note: There are civil restraining orders (the usual kind) and criminal restraining orders. These issue from different courts, and the distinction is big.

Learning the ins and outs of restraining order litigation has for this writer been an ongoing educational process bordering on a descent into hell that he’s only submitted to with a great deal of teeth-gnashing. In my state (Arizona), it’s possible for a plaintiff who’s petitioned for a restraining order in civil court to return to the same court and file a motion to have it vacated (canceled). Presumably (and I say “presumably,” because laws and protocols vary from state to state), similar provisions are universal.

An exception that I’ve encountered in search terms leading to this blog and respondents’ comments is the criminal restraining order. Its purpose and prohibitions are the same as a civil restraining order’s, but it’s issued by a judge in connection with a criminal prosecution and need not be petitioned at all (though its issuance may be requested by either the plaintiff or the county/district attorney).

It isn’t so easily removed even if the “victim” (for example, of a domestic dispute reported to the police) moves the court to “drop” it.

The common conception is that someone makes a charge and can drop the charge if s/he wants later on. This isn’t strictly the case, though. Oftentimes, once this process is initiated, it leaves the “victim’s” hands. The system does what it “thinks” is best.

Those interested in dropping a criminal restraining order should consult the link at the bottom of this recently constructed page—which catalogs types of restraining orders and what they’re called in different jurisdictions—for more information provided by an attorney in Denver.

In closing this post, I’m prompted by a recent comment from a woman whose husband inadvertently ended up in prison to emphasize that moving the court to drop a restraining order—that is, submitting a motion to the court—isn’t a guarantee that it will be dropped. That determination is up to a judge.

Restraining orders should be observed by defendants according to the letter of the law until it’s been confirmed in no uncertain terms by the court that they’ve been vacated (dropped). Plaintiffs may think, for instance, that if they say it’s okay for someone who’s been issued a restraining order to come home that it is okay. Their authority isn’t recognized by the law, however, and a restrained party’s violation of an injunction, even with the “victim’s” consent, is grounds for arrest and incarceration.

It may seem that authorities and judges bend the rules as they see fit, and this impression isn’t necessarily wrong. But never doubt for a moment that their intolerance of others’ bending the rules is unforgiving.

Copyright © 2014 RestrainingOrderAbuse.com

*See also this post: “On Withdrawing Restraining Orders That Were Obtained Impetuously (and on the Influences That Militate against Conscience).”