Orders For Protection And Harassment Restraining Orders
Unfortunately, domestic violence and harassment are facts of life and may come in many forms. Examples include; actual physical abuse, threats of physical abuse, emotional abuse, threatening calls, repeated calls, emails or texts, social media harassment, stalking, and other forms of annoyance and control. One of the remedies for domestic abuse is seeking what is called an Order for Protection. Orders for Protection are sometimes called domestic abuse restraining orders, no contact orders or just OFP’s. One of the ways to deal with harassment is to seek a Harassment Restraining Order or HRO.
Domestic abuse actions have serious implications in people’s lives. OFP’s impact the parties’ ability to communicate with each other, temporary and permanent custody of children, child support, who resides in the home, how resources and assets get utilized and other issues like the ability to bear arms. The legal standards that govern the issuance of Orders for Protection is set out in Minnesota Statute §518B.01. Effective representation on either side of an OFP or HRO cases requires not only knowledge of the complexities of the law, but experience with marriage dynamics, personal relationships, emotional, psychological and chemical health and their interrelationship with marriage dissolution and child custody proceedings.
Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) proceedings similarly require knowledge of the law and the human dynamics that result in repeated, unwanted and harassing conduct. Legal “Harassment" is in part defined as “a single incident of physical or sexual assault or repeated incidents of intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures that have a substantial adverse effect or are intended to have a substantial adverse effect on the safety, security, or privacy of another.” The legal standards that govern the issuance of a Harassment Restraining Order is set out in Minnesota Statute §609.748. If you are being harassed and think you are in need of a HRO or if you are facing harassment allegations, the implications are important and may have long term consequences so legal representation is very important.
I have extensive experience handling Order for Protection and Harassment Restraining Order proceedings and understand the needs of families and individuals struggling with divorce, custody issues, parenting time issues and child development as well as the implications of financial stress and mental health issues. This kind of experience is invaluable in navigating these delicate types of legal proceeding. If you find yourself or a loved on needing or facing a Petition for an OFP or HRO, feel free to call me for an initial consultation at no cost.
