Served With a Restraining Order in Riverside County?

Usually the person asking for the order has already received a temporary order from a judge, without you there. Once you are served, you must obey it, even if you believe the claims are false. A hearing is set, usually within 21 days, or 25 days for good cause. You can file a written response before the hearing, and you are entitled to one continuance to prepare (Family Code 242, 245; Code of Civil Procedure 527.6). At the hearing, the judge decides whether to issue a longer order. If you don’t appear, the judge can grant it without hearing your side.

The most common are:

• Domestic violence restraining orders, between spouses, partners, dating partners, the parents of a child, people who live or lived together, and close relatives such as a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or in-law (Family Code 6211)
• Civil harassment restraining orders, for neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances and others without that kind of relationship (Code of Civil Procedure 527.6)
• Criminal protective orders, issued by the judge in a criminal case (PC 136.2)
• Gun violence restraining orders, which take away guns and ammunition (PC 18100 and following)

Workplace violence, school violence and elder abuse restraining orders work in similar ways.

It depends on the type of order. For a domestic violence restraining order, the judge must find reasonable proof of past abuse, more likely than not. Abuse is broader than violence: it includes threats, harassment, stalking, destroying property and disturbing the other person’s peace, including coercive control (Family Code 6203, 6300, 6320). A civil harassment order requires clear and convincing evidence of violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing course of conduct that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses the person, serves no legitimate purpose and causes substantial emotional distress (Code of Civil Procedure 527.6). A gun violence restraining order requires clear and convincing evidence that you pose a significant danger with a gun and that less restrictive options have failed or are not enough (PC 18175).

A temporary order lasts until the hearing. After a hearing, a domestic violence restraining order can last up to five years, and the protected person can ask to renew it for five or more years, or permanently, without showing any new abuse (Family Code 6345). A civil harassment order can also last up to five years and be renewed for up to five more (Code of Civil Procedure 527.6). A gun violence restraining order lasts one to five years and can be renewed if the danger continues (PC 18175, 18190). A criminal protective order usually lasts while the criminal case or probation is going on, and after a domestic violence conviction it can last up to 10 years (PC 136.2(i)), or up to 15 years after a conviction for corporal injury to a spouse or partner (PC 273.5(j)).

Yes. Every type of order bars you from owning, possessing or buying guns, gun parts or ammunition while it is in effect. Under a domestic violence or gun violence restraining order, if an officer asks for them when you are served, you must hand them over right away. Otherwise you generally have 24 hours to turn them in to law enforcement or sell or store them with a licensed gun dealer, and 48 hours to file the receipt with the court (Family Code 6389; Code of Civil Procedure 527.9; PC 18120). Under domestic violence and gun violence orders, filing the receipt late is itself a violation. Having a gun while restrained is a separate crime (PC 29825; PC 18205 for gun violence orders). Narrow exceptions exist for some jobs that require a firearm, but not under a gun violence restraining order.

Your Notice of Court Hearing (form DV-109, or CH-109 for civil harassment) lists the courthouse, department, date and time. In Riverside County, domestic violence restraining orders are heard at the Riverside Family Law Courthouse on Main Street in Riverside, the Menifee Justice Center or the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Civil harassment orders are heard in civil departments, for example at the Menifee Justice Center or the Palm Springs courthouse. A criminal protective order comes from the criminal court handling the criminal case.

More than staying away. Depending on the request, the judge can order you not to contact, harass or come near the protected person and other household members, to move out of a shared home even if your name is on the lease or title, and to follow temporary custody and visitation orders (Family Code 6320, 6321, 6323). After a hearing, the judge can also order you to complete a batterer’s program (Family Code 6343). If the court finds you committed domestic violence in the past five years, the law presumes that giving you sole or joint custody of your children is not in their best interest, and you can try to overcome that presumption (Family Code 3044).

You can be arrested and charged with a crime. Knowingly violating a domestic violence, civil harassment or similar restraining order is a misdemeanor with up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, and a violation that causes an injury carries a 30-day minimum that the judge can reduce in some cases (PC 273.6). Violating a criminal protective order is also a misdemeanor with up to one year in jail (PC 166(c)). A later conviction within seven years of a prior conviction for violating an order can be charged as a felony if it involves violence or a credible threat (PC 273.6(d), 166(c)(4)). Only the judge can change the order: even if the protected person invites contact, you can still be arrested.

Usually you should tell your side to the judge, but carefully. If the same events could lead to criminal charges, anything you say in your written response or in court can be used against you in a criminal case. Talk to a criminal defense attorney before you file anything or testify. Don’t contact the protected person to work things out, even through friends, family or social media, and don’t post about the case. If police want to question you, politely decline and ask for a lawyer. Save texts, emails, call logs and photos that support your side.

It depends on the evidence. Common responses include:

• The events did not happen, or did not happen the way they are described
• What happened does not meet the legal definition of abuse or harassment
• Your contact served a legitimate purpose, such as arranging child exchanges
• You acted in self-defense
• The request is being used to gain an advantage in a divorce, custody or housing dispute
• The evidence is not enough to meet the required standard of proof

We review texts, emails, call logs, social media, photos, video, police reports and witness statements to prepare your response.

Sometimes. Either side can ask the judge to change or end a domestic violence or civil harassment order early, and the parties can file a written agreement, but the judge decides (Family Code 6345; Code of Civil Procedure 527.6). You can ask to end a gun violence restraining order once a year (PC 18185). Only the criminal court that issued a criminal protective order can change it; a family court order cannot override it. You can also oppose a request to renew an order. A restraining order is not a conviction, but it is entered in a statewide law enforcement database. For non-citizens, being found to have violated certain protective orders can carry serious immigration consequences, so talk to us before your hearing.

Often, yes. For a domestic violence restraining order, California law lets a party appear remotely (Family Code 6308), and the Riverside court holds remote appearances by Zoom. For civil harassment, the court can allow a remote appearance but can also require you to come in person (Code of Civil Procedure 367.75). Your notice explains how to appear, and some hearings require you to give notice in advance, so call us early. We help you decide whether to appear in person or by video.

The two cases run separately: the restraining order in family or civil court, and the criminal case in criminal court, often at the Riverside Hall of Justice, where the judge usually issues a criminal protective order. If you are charged with a domestic violence crime, police generally enforce the criminal protective order ahead of a family or civil court order, and any no-contact order is enforced first (PC 136.2). Anything you say at the restraining order hearing can be used in the criminal case, so talk to us before you file a response or testify.