Obtaining a Restraining Order or Protection Order

For whatever reason, you may find yourself in need of a Protection Order or Restraining Order to keep someone away from you, and/or your children, home, work, etc.  While it is fairly easy to obtain a Temporary Protection Order/Restraining Order, making this Order permanent often calls for an evidentiary hearing.  Here are three steps to obtaining a Protection Order/Restraining Order in Colorado:

1. File a Motion – you must file a Motion, and likely appear in front of a Judge, to formally make your allegations and give the Court a reason that you need protection. If you hire a lawyer, the lawyer will do this for you.  If you do not hire a lawyer, you must physically go down to the Courthouse and draft and file this Motion yourself.
2. Obtain and Serve the Temporary Order – if the Judge grants your Motion, you will get a Temporary Protection Order/Restraining Order valid for 14 days that needs to be personally served on the restrained person. If you have a lawyer, they will hire a private process server to accomplish this for you.  If you do not have a lawyer, you will need to contact a Police Officer and pay them to serve the restrained person.
3. Permanent Protection Order/Restraining Order Hearing – unless the person you want to protect yourself against agrees to the Permanent Protection Order/Restraining Order, the Court will need to conduct a full evidentiary hearing on whether or not the Protection Order/Restraining Order should be made permanent. This will need to be done within 14 days of serving the restrained person.  You will need to gather witnesses and documents to present your case, and you must meet certain legal standards for the Judge to rule in your favor.  If you do not meet these standards, your case will be dismissed, and any Temporary Protection Order/Restraining Order in place will no longer be valid.  Of course, if you hire a lawyer, they will gather witnesses, documents and other evidence, and present your case for you.

Protection Orders/Restraining Orders are difficult to make permanent.  It is very important that you do things right from the beginning of the process until the end, to ensure that you have adequate protection.  Contact me for a free consultation to discuss how best to obtain your Protection Order/Restraining Order.