Connecticut Restraining Order Attorney

Are you or a loved one the victim of a family violence incident? Is your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend harassing and stalking you? If so, you may be wondering what legal tools are available to protect you. One of the options that may be available to you is seeking a restraining order in civil or family court. In Connecticut, there are two types of restraining orders that a civil or family court judge can order: those for Relief from Abuse or a Civil Protection Order.

These two different orders ultimately accomplish the same thing by placing limitations on whether another person can contact you or be nearby your home. However, to receive the benefit of one of these orders, you will need to go through the process of holding an evidentiary hearing, where the other person can respond to your allegations and claims. The judge will then decide whether such an order is appropriate after hearing all of the evidence.

If you or a loved one are seeking or responding to either a Relief from Abuse Restraining Order or a Civil Protection Order, you are likely scared and overwhelmed. You may not know where to begin or what to do. Our restraining order attorneys are here to help. Call Black’s Law Group today for a free consultation. Until then, here is some general information to help. 

Preserve Evidence!

To maximize your chances of having your restraining order granted, you will want to preserve any available evidence about what is happening to present it to the court. If you are seeking a restraining order because of a family violence incident, take photographs of your injuries. If you are seeking a restraining order because of harassment and stalking, save any text messages, emails, or voicemails that the other person may be sending you.

At the hearing, the judge will certainly listen to your testimony. However, your claims and arguments will always be stronger if there is evidence corroborating the behavior that you are talking about. Don’t give the other side or their attorney any daylight to argue that these incidents did not happen. Preserve the evidence!

The same goes for anyone responding to a restraining order. After you are served with the paperwork, review what the other side is saying happened. Do the threatening messages actually exist? Did the other side conveniently leave out other details that change the context of them? Preserve the evidence that might be available to share with your attorney.

Be Thorough In Your Application

Regardless of which restraining order that you are seeking, the process begins with you filling out an application and an affidavit. This application is then submitted to the Court for review. The Court will then decide whether to grant a hearing on your application.

Your applications and the claims that you make in the affidavit form the basis of the hearing. You need to be thorough and complete when putting it together. As a matter of best practice, if you are planning on hiring an attorney to represent you at the actual hearing, you should also be looking to hire one to assist you in developing your application and affidavit.

If you are responding to a restraining order, you do not file an affidavit with the Court. However, you will want to comb through the affidavit with an attorney to develop the strongest defense possible by identifying potential witnesses and evidence to refute the other side’s claims.

Hire a Connecticut Restraining Order Attorney Today

We know that anyone seeking a restraining order is dealing with serious issues in their day-to-day, personal life. We also know that anyone responding to a restraining order is facing potentially life-changing restrictions on their day-to-day life. Our attorneys are prepared to help provide you with peace of mind and take the stresses of seeking a restraining order off of your plate as best as we can. Call us today for a free consultation.