What is a Domestic Violence Protection Order?
Protection Orders (or "POs") are documents filed with the court system that, if granted, state that your abuser cannot contact you or be near you. Your children can also be protected under this order. Protection orders do NOT mean that your abuser will be charged with Domestic Violence, or that he/she will be immediately placed under arrest. He/she will not be arrested unless the Protection Order is violated after it has been served.
Who Can Request a Domestic Violence Protection Order?
According to the North Dakota Supreme Court website, "A spouse or former spouse, a family member, a parent, a child, a person related by blood or marriage, a person presently residing with the abusing person or who has resided with that person in the past, a person who has a child in common with the abusing person, persons who are in a dating relationship, or any other person with sufficient relationship to the abusing person as determined by the Court."
Domestic Violence Protection Order Process
The victim (known as the "Petitioner") completes the petition for the Protection Order and files it with the court. An advocate at DVAC can help you with this. If the court finds that you are in immediate danger based on the information that was filed, they can issue a Temporary Protection Order.
A court hearing will be scheduled no later than 14 days after the temporary order is issued. This hearing is held to determine whether or not the court will extend the Protection Order. This gives both the Petitioner and the Respondent a chance to say why the Protection Order should or should not be extended. You can request that a DVAC advocate be present with you at this hearing for support. However, please keep in mind that we are not lawyers. If you wish to have a lawyer present, you must arrange this prior to the hearing.