State Of Maine Restraining Orders

A civil harassment restraining order is a court order that helps protect people from violence, stalking, serious harassment, or threats of violence. You can ask for a civil harassment restraining order if: A person has abused (or threatened to abuse), sexually assaulted, stalked, or seriously harassed you, and.

Decide the evidence you want to use.Evidence is what you present in court to prove that the Respondent has harmed or may harm you (and/or your child). Evidence can be your testimony, the testimony of witnesses, documents, photos, or objects such as torn clothing or a weapon.

These are orders to stop specific acts against everyone named in the restraining order as a protected person. Some of the things that the restrained person can be ordered to stop are: Contacting, calling, or sending any messages (including e-mail);

The court is looking for a description of your relationship to the respondent, when, where, what happened, and who did what to whom. Using the facts of the incident only, keep your statement brief and to the point. Briefly describe the most recent incident of abuse and/or threats of abuse or other behaviors.

Give the protected person the orders he or she asked for. Give the protected person some of the orders he or she asked for and not others. Not give the protected person any of the orders he or she asked for. Postpone your case and give you a new court date.

Ask the court to change the order. The court can drop the "no contact" part of the order but keep the "no abuse" part of the order. Get the 209A protective order "terminated." This will end the order completely.

A violation of a restraining order will often result in arrest, and is a criminal offense.If there is a restraining order against you, but the person who filed the order repeatedly tries to have contact with you, you may go to court to ask the judge to vacate the restraining order.

You can fill out and file a Response to Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders (Form CH-120. ) where you tell the judge your side of the story about what happened. Even if you do not file a Response, GO TO YOUR HEARING!

It does not cost anything to file for an order of protection. Many orders of protection cases are handled without a lawyer however it can often be helpful to have one represent you in court.If you are going to be in court without a lawyer, our Preparing for Court By Yourself section may be useful to you.