You must go to the Clerk’s Office at your local district court or county probate and family court to fill out the application. The application requires you to complete an affidavit (written statement) that explains why you are asking for the protection order. Many district courthouses have victim witness advocates who can assist you with filing the application. Ask a clerk to direct you to the victim witness advocate office, if possible.
On the day you file, you will appear in front of a judge who decides whether to grant you a temporary protection order. This order will be valid for up to ten days. A court date will be set for an extension hearing. The ten day extension hearing is when the judge decides if the order will be extended for a longer period of time. Between being granted the temporary order and the ten day extension hearing, the order is in full effect and the defendant’s police department is responsible for serving the protection order to the defendant and notifying them of all the orders granted by the court.
The defendant is the person who the protection order is against.
The plaintiff is the person seeking protection from abuse and/or harassment.
The protection order will terminate if the plaintiff does not go to the ten day extension hearing. If the defendant has been served with the protection order by the police and does not appear at the ten day extension hearing, a judge may extend the order for 1 year because there has been notice. However, if the defendant does not appear and there is no proof of notice/service of the protection order, a judge can only extend the protection order for an additional 10 days when another ten day extension hearing will be scheduled.
The defendant has the right to contest the order at the ten day hearing. The police must serve him or her with the protection order that notifies them about that court date. If you are interested in knowing if the order has been served, you may call the court or the police department response for service. If the police are unable to serve the defendant within the ten day period, the judge will likely set a new court date to give police more time to locate and serve the order.
You may bring a lawyer if you wish, however it is not necessary. You may also bring a friend or advocate for support. Although physical evidence is not necessary to corroborate what you wrote in the application, you may bring documents, pictures, or available witnesses. Primarily, the Judge will be considering your verbal testimony and may decide whether to consider any additional documents, witnesses, or evidence provided by either party. The defendant has the right to be present and dispute the extension of the protection order, but their attendance is not required. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Judge decides whether to extend the order.
If the judge decides to extend the protection order, it is usually extended for up to a 1 year period. A one year extension hearing date will be scheduled immediately and will be written on the protection order. It is important to mark the next extension hearing date on your calendar because the court will not remind you of the next date.
The procedure for a one year extension hearing is similar to the ten day extension hearing.
You may bring a lawyer if you wish, however it is not necessary. You may also bring a friend or advocate for support. Although physical evidence is not necessary to corroborate what you wrote in the application, you may bring documents, pictures, or available witnesses. Primarily, the Judge will be considering your verbal testimony and may decide whether to consider any additional documents, witnesses, or evidence provided by either party. The defendant has the right to be present and dispute the extension of the protection order, but their attendance is not required. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Judge decides whether to extend the order.
If the judge decides to extend the protection order, it is usually extended for up to a 1 year period. You may request a longer(3-5 years) or permanent extension at the one year extension hearing date. A new extension date will be scheduled immediately and will be written on the protection order. It is important to mark the next extension hearing date on your calendar because the court will not remind you of the next date.