Domestic violence & protective orders answers
Domestic violence charges and protective and restraining orders, their terms and hearings.
All 59 answers
Sorted by question. General information, not advice for an individual case. Search the whole library or choose another topic below.
Are Orders of Protection Public Record in California?
A California protective order may appear in a public court file, while confidential CLETS forms and law-enforcement records follow different rules. Check the order type and court case.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a custody case affect a domestic violence prosecution?
How a California family court custody case and a domestic violence prosecution can affect each other, including protective order and custody order coordination.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a domestic violence case go forward if the accuser will not testify?
Whether a California domestic violence case can proceed if the accuser will not testify, and which hearsay and confrontation rules actually control.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a domestic violence charge affect my immigration status in California?
A California domestic violence case can trigger deportation under a specific federal ground, a protective order finding, or a separate moral turpitude question.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a family member get an elder abuse restraining order against me?
A family member cannot always petition for an elder abuse restraining order. See who Welfare and Institutions Code 15657.03 allows to file.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a green-card holder or naturalized citizen be deported for domestic violence?
A California domestic-violence case affects a green-card holder and a naturalized citizen differently. Learn the conviction, protection-order and citizenship distinctions.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a restraining order make me pay child support or spousal support?
A California domestic violence restraining order can include child or spousal support only in specific situations. When it applies and how long it lasts.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a restraining order protect my pet?
A California domestic violence restraining order can protect a pet: possession and stay-away terms, how to ask, and what they mean if you are restrained.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan a third party discuss children for me under a protective order?
A protective order can treat third-party messages as your own contact. What your order must say before someone else can discuss your children for you.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan an abuse expert support my California self-defense claim?
An intimate partner battering expert may explain a self-defense claim when the testimony is relevant and the expert is qualified.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan both people in a relationship get restraining orders against each other?
When a California family court can restrain both people with mutual domestic violence restraining orders under Family Code 6305, and what each side must do.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I appeal a restraining order in California?
When a California restraining order can be appealed, the strict rule 8.104 deadline, and whether the order stays in effect during an appeal.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I be blamed for contact someone else made in a domestic violence case?
A protective order violation needs your own willful act. Learn when someone else's contact can, and cannot, be used against you in California.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I be charged for breaking my partner's phone during an argument?
Breaking a partner's phone is usually vandalism, but grabbing it or blocking a 911 call can add battery, PC 591.5, or PC 136.1 charges. The $400 line.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I be ordered to pay the other side's attorney's fees in a restraining order case?
A winning California restraining order petitioner gets attorney's fees on request, after an ability-to-pay finding. A winning respondent faces a higher bar.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I carry a gun for work while a restraining order is in effect?
California protective orders require surrendering a work firearm too. Learn the narrow court exemption for peace officers and employees who must carry one.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I challenge a protective order I never received?
Defending a violation charge and asking the court to end an order you never had notice of are different processes. What California law requires for each.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I get a continuance of a restraining order hearing?
A California domestic violence restraining order respondent can get one continuance without showing good cause. Rules for later requests and temporary orders.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I get a domestic violence restraining order without filing a police report?
California lets a domestic violence restraining order issue on the petitioner's affidavit alone. See what Family Code 6300 still requires.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersCan I get diversion for a domestic violence charge in California?
PC 1001.95 bars misdemeanor diversion for domestic violence. When mental health or military diversion can still apply, and the PC 1203.097 probation terms.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan I own a gun after a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction in California?
A misdemeanor DV conviction can trigger California's 10-year or no-time-limit gun ban and a separate federal ban. How each applies and what relief exists.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan my lawyer interview the alleged victim in my domestic violence case?
A defense lawyer can request an interview with an alleged victim, but Marsy's Law lets the victim refuse it or set conditions on it.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan my phone's location data help fight a protective order violation charge?
How your own phone location history can support or undermine a California stay-away order violation charge, and its real limits as evidence.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan prior domestic violence incidents be used against me in a new case?
Whether a prosecutor can use an earlier domestic violence incident against you under California Evidence Code 1109, and the limits that still apply.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerCan text messages change the evidence in a domestic violence case?
Text and social media messages must be authenticated before they count as evidence in a California DV case, and using part of a thread can bring in the rest.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerDoes a restraining order against me automatically affect custody of my kids?
A restraining order case can include custody orders, and a court finding of domestic violence in the last five years triggers Family Code 3044's presumption.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerDoes a restraining order suspend my concealed carry permit in California?
A qualifying California restraining order requires revoking an existing CCW license, and the order itself bars firearm possession. See the rules.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerDoes California enforce a restraining order issued in another state?
Yes, if it is valid. California and federal law require enforcement of a valid out-of-state protective order, even if it was never registered here.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerDoes domestic violence in front of a child increase the sentence in California?
California law can treat domestic violence witnessed by a child as an aggravating factor at sentencing. See when Penal Code 1170.76 applies.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerDoes every California restraining order show up on a federal gun background check?
Not every California restraining order meets the federal gun-ban test, but California's own ban still blocks purchases. See how both apply.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerDoes the relationship between the parties change a domestic violence charge?
Domestic battery and corporal injury charges need a listed relationship. The cohabitant test, dating without living together, co-parents, and 6211.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersDoes the restraining order against me end if my criminal case is dismissed?
A pretrial criminal protective order generally loses its basis when the whole case is dismissed; separate civil or postconviction orders may continue.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow can I clarify the places a protective order bars me from visiting?
A protective order's stay-away places and distance are set by your judge, not a fixed rule. How to read your order and get real ambiguity clarified.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow can I get my belongings when a protective order bars contact?
How to lawfully retrieve personal property from a shared home under a California protective order, without contacting the other party.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow can I get the 911 call from my domestic violence arrest?
How to get a 911 recording in a California domestic violence case through discovery or subpoena, and why a records request usually won't produce the audio.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow do I ask a San Diego criminal court to change a protective order?
San Diego form CRM-248 lets eligible parties request a criminal protective-order change. Learn what to explain, whom to serve, and why the current order still controls.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow do I document compliance with a protective order's firearm terms?
How to relinquish firearms under a California protective order, file the 48-hour receipt, and what a later conviction separately requires.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow do I find every protective order currently against me?
There is no public California search for protective orders against you. How the statewide system works, out-of-state orders, and how to confirm what is on file.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow do I get my guns back after a protective order ends?
California does not return relinquished firearms automatically when a protective order ends. Here is the DOJ eligibility process, fee, and timeline.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow does a restraining order work if you and the other person share a workplace?
How a California domestic violence restraining order can cover a shared workplace, what the DV-100, DV-110, DV-120, and DV-130 forms say, and how to raise it.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerHow long can California wait to charge an older domestic-violence allegation?
California domestic-violence charging deadlines depend on the offense and date. Compare domestic battery with corporal injury and check when prosecution began.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerIs it legal to secretly record my partner to prove what happened?
California generally requires all-party consent to record. When secretly recording a partner is a crime, the narrow DV exceptions, and when it can be used.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerIs strangulation charged more seriously in a California domestic violence case?
How California's corporal-injury law treats strangulation without a visible mark, and when a great bodily injury enhancement can add prison time.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerShould I testify at a restraining order hearing while my criminal case is pending?
Testifying at a restraining order hearing during a pending criminal case carries self-incrimination risk. What California law protects, and what does not.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat does a judge check about me before ruling on a restraining order?
Before a California domestic violence restraining order hearing, the court must have your records searched. What it covers and what the results can trigger.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat does peaceful contact allow under a criminal protective order?
On a California criminal protective order (CR-160), peaceful contact covers only child exchanges and court-ordered visitation set by a family court order.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat evidence should I preserve when a domestic violence report omits my injuries?
If a California domestic violence report omits your injuries, preserve original records and let counsel review the evidence and dominant-aggressor rules.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat happens if a gun violence restraining order petition against me was false?
Filing a gun violence restraining order petition knowing its information is false, or with intent to harass, is a separate misdemeanor under Penal Code 18200.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat happens if I cannot find the other party to serve a restraining order petition?
Cannot find the other party to serve a California restraining order? Who may serve, how to get a new date, and when a judge allows alternative service.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat happens if someone makes a false domestic violence report?
Being disbelieved is not a false report. Learn California's false report and perjury exposure for a knowingly false domestic violence report or declaration.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat happens to a shared lease after a protective order?
A California protective order does not cancel a shared lease. Lock changes, the rent a restrained co-tenant can still owe, and when a court can remove only you.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat happens when both partners are arrested for domestic violence?
California discourages but does not ban dual domestic violence arrests. Learn about the dominant aggressor rule, separate cases, and protective orders.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat if a shared online account contacts someone protected by an order?
A protective order violation still requires proof that you knowingly made the contact. What a shared login changes, and does not change, in California.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat if two 911 callers describe a domestic violence incident differently?
When two 911 callers describe a domestic violence incident differently, neither call is automatically excluded. Here is how California law treats that.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat is a gun violence restraining order and how is it different from a domestic violence restraining order?
How a California gun violence restraining order works, who can file one, how long it lasts, and how it differs from a domestic violence order's firearm rule.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat is the 52-week batterer intervention program?
California's batterer's program requires at least a year of weekly two-hour sessions under Penal Code 1203.097. See the rules, fees, and exceptions.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat is the difference between a no-contact order and a restraining order?
A California no-contact order is usually one term inside a protective order, often a criminal protective order. A restraining order is usually a civil order.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhat should I do before my first Kern County DVDP hearing?
Read the signed Kern CR-0314 for your first DVDP hearing, no-contact terms, payment or waiver step, proof to bring and assigned classes.
Read answer Domestic violence & protective ordersLegal answerWhich order controls if I have both a criminal and a civil restraining order?
California sets the order in which conflicting protective orders are enforced. See the four-step priority list and what it means for a restrained person.
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