Protective Order

Persons eligible to petition for an adult PO must be a cohabitant, subjected to abuse or DV, or to whom there is a substantial likelihood of abuse or DV. 

The petition shall be filed in Summit County only if the victim resides here, the abuser resides here, or the abuse took place here.

An advocate will meet with the petitioner  (by appointment) to fill out the order request.  The Judge will review the request and if he/she finds it meets the general criteria, a temporary order will be issued.  Law enforcement will serve the respondent (abuser) that order and it becomes effective at time of service.  Therefore, a valid address for service must be provided by the petitioner for the respondent. 

A hearing is scheduled within 20 days to determine if the final order will be issued or the temporary order dismissed. Both the petitioner (victim) and respondent must be present at the hearing.  It is not necessary to hire legal counsel. The final order lasts at least two years.

Civil Stalking Injunction

CSI’s require corroborating evidence of two or incidents be attached to the petition.  The jurisdiction requirements are the same as the PO. 

An advocate will meet with the petitioner  (by appointment) to fill out the order request.  The Judge will review the request and if he/she finds it meets the general criteria, a temporary order will be issued.  Law enforcement will serve the respondent (stalker) that order and it becomes effective at time of service.  Therefore, a valid address for service must be provided by the petitioner for the respondent. 

A hearing is not automatically scheduled, however the respondent may request a hearing.  This is usually done within 10 days following service.  The petitioner will be notified by the courts (via mail) of the hearing.  You must contact  the victim advocates and let them know you have received notice of hearing.  Both the petitioner (victim) and respondent must be present at the hearing.  The final order expires after 3 years.

Protective Order on Behalf of Child

Any interested person, having first made a referral to DCFS, may file petition for a PO on behalf of a child who has been abused physically or sexually, or is in imminent danger of being abused.  An advocate will meet with the petitioner  (by appointment) to fill out the order request. 

A Juvenile Court Judge will review the request and if he/she finds it meets the general criteria. A Guardian ad Litem will be appointed to represent the child and a hearing will be scheduled within 20 days.  The court shall provide opportunity for any person having relevant knowledge to  present evidence or information of minors abuse.

The final order may lasts 150 days up to 2 years, or until the child is 18.

Criminal Protective Orders

The difference between civil and criminal PO’s is how the order is obtained.  There is no application process, there is a DV offense committed and a criminal process initiated. 

These orders may take the form of an arrest—jail agreement or “no contact order”, a prosecution—pretrial order, or a sentencing—sentencing order.  The last two orders can be requested by the victim or by the prosecutor on behalf of the victim. 

Criminal orders are only enforceable for the period of time in  which the court holds jurisdiction over the arrestee/defendant and it is a separate written order.