What Happens if You Violate a Restraining Order?

When a San Diego court grants you a restraining order against someone and despite that restraining order, the person violates the order, what happens then? What do you do? First, you should call the police and/or 911 immediately and report depending on the situation. Per California law, knowing violation of a restraining order is considered contempt of court. Additionally, California law makes it a crime to violate a restraining order. But there is also a possibility that you report the incident(s) to the police and nothing seems to be done about it. What then?

Unfortunately, this happens due to many reasons. But whatever the reason(s) might be are of less concern to you than your safety and peace of mind and you can do something about it. You can file what is called a Motion for Contempt with the court without waiting for the police or the District Attorney’s office to do something about the restraining order violations. Unlike any criminal charges against a restraining order violator that only the District Attorney can bring no matter how bad you want them to, the civil Motion for Contempt is entirely up to you to file and prove to the court that someone violated the restraining order against him/her.  You want to makes sure that the Motion is correctly prepared and filed and meets all requirements.

Additionally, the violator may have a lawyer to represent him/her in opposing your Motion for Contempt and you would want an experienced restraining orders lawyer in your corner representing you. Furthermore, if the District Attorney files a criminal case against the violator, then there would certainly be a lawyer representing the violator.

Attorney Timothy Riley is an experienced San Diego restraining orders lawyer and can help you with filing a Motion for Contempt and any related issues. Call (619) 500-1289 or contact us here.