Restraining Orders Legal Questions

If possible, I would talk with your husband about his son’s violence and that you cannot continue to have him in your lives any longer. If you cant have that type of conversation with your husband but have decided that you cannot continue to have him in your house or in contact with you, then you have the right to file a domestic violence complaint against him based on physical violence to you and verbal abuse and harassment. For your purposes, the more material you can provide the police with about incidents of violence against you and against your husband (in your presence) the better starting with the most recent incident. I would sit down and write out a detailed history of the sons violent history working backwards and a complete listing of as many violent incidents that you can recall where he was physically violent to you, pushing you, getting in your face, cursing at you, punching holes in walls, breaking objects in your presence with as much detail as possible as to the date of the incident, where it occurred and what he said to you of a threatening nature. Then compile the exact same list of incidents where he did the same thing to your husband (when you were present to observe it). Critical to a domestic violence complaint is a predicate act (recent incident that caused you to seek police intervention). With a recent incident, you can then provide the history of other bad actions by the son against you and your husband as part of the history. To file a domestic violence complaint, simply go to your local police station and tell them that you want to file a domestic violence complaint against your husband’s son who has lived with you, stating that you are fearful for your safety as a result of his violent outbursts directed towards you and your husband. Bring your list with you and make sure that you include everything from your history in the complaint even if the officer has to sit and write for a while. Do not shortcut the process by excluding violent incidents.  ... Read More

Thank you for your question about restraining orders in New Jersey.  I am so sorry you are going through this difficult time.   A restraining order prohibits your Husband from contacting you, or any other third party, as his request.  However, it may be permissible for his attorney to contact you under certain circumstances.  The question of whether or not the contact was permitted is very fact specific.  I suggest you contact a family law attorney in New Jersey with experience in domestic violence victims, to discuss your specific rights or protections under the law.... Read More

It is not improper for the lawyer to reach out to you to discuss an adjournment request or to ask you if you are interested in exploring other options for resolution of the matter so long as he / she is respectful and does not attempt to intimidate or pressure you with the contact. If you dont want to talk with the lawyer, you can simply tell him that you are not interested in discussing it with him and from that point forward, he should not contact you further. Alternatively, you have the right to ask the lawyer what he is suggesting as a way to resolve the matter peacefully and then you can evaluate whether the suggested solution makes sense to you. ... Read More

Domestic violence complaints are serious matters and if you cannot personally attend the hearing, call the court (in the paperwork provided to you, there is a telephone number and email address information for you to use to contact the court) and arrange to participate by phone or by zoom videoconferencing. For videoconferencing, the court will send you an email with a zoom link that you will click open at the designated time so as to be able to participate.  For trial purposes, he is the plaintiff and he goes first at the trial, presenting his information as to what he claims supports his complaint for a final restraining order against you for harassment. You or your lawyer then have the right to cross examine him and present documents to use for cross examination purposes and then after he finishes with his testimony and any witnesses he claims supports his position, you then have the right to testify and present your proofs in opposition. Again, I not only suggest that you immediately contact the court to ensure that you can participate but you need to sit down with a family law attorney experienced in the handling of domestic violence matters to educate yourself on the law and the consequences of a future violation and its impact on the current custody plan in place. Too many times, our office sees people for consultation purposes after the fact, who did not take it serious enough and thought that they could simply represent themselves and then they lost and now want to know if we can file an appeal on their behalf to undo the consequences of their actions or seek to set aside the court’s decision so as to permit us to retry the matter for them. ... Read More

I'm a bit confused. If he is already convicted of violating the OP, then it won't matter if the OP gets dropped, he was guilty on the day he was convicted. However, you asked how to drop an OP, and the answer is that OPs are usually handled by family court/divorce attorneys, and also often by criminal defense attorneys. You can Petition the Court that issued the OP to drop the OP. It is still up to the Judge, but if a victim says they want it dropped, it will usually be dropped. If you can do that, certainly the inmate could speak with his attorney about filing a Motion to try and set aside his conviction. That would be handled by a criminal defense attorney. I think the DA will not likely consent to this. ... Read More

Thank you for your question. The answer to your question is it depends. You can definitely initiate the divorce now; however, without additional information regarding the specifics surrounding your matter, I would not be able to tell you if this is the right time. I suggest meeting with a family law attorney who can analyze your situation and give you advice on how to protect your rights if you were to proceed with the divorce now.... Read More