What happens in California when someone files a restraining order against you?
Hripsime Bagdasaryan's Answer
Quick Answer
In California, if you are served with a temporary restraining order, you must cease contact with the petitioner, surrender any firearms within 24 hours, and prepare for a hearing where you can present your side before the judge decides on a permanent order.
Key risks
Potential Risk
Criminal charges for violating the restraining order.
Potential Risk
Loss of firearm possession rights.
Potential Risk
Impact on custody rights.
Potential Risk
Negative effects on employment and background checks.
Full Transcript
Below is an AI-generated transcript of the video answer.
Restraining order. So what happens in California when somebody files a
restraining order against you? So generally what happens is the judge
usually grants a temporary restraining order on the same day or the next day
that the request for the restraining order is made without hearing from you
at all. And that's called a temporary restraining order. Those are fully
enforceable once you're served with a copy of that restraining order. On that
temporary restraining order there will be a court date. That will be the date of
the hearing where you will be able to present your side in response to this
person asking for a restraining order against you. So once you're served with
that you have to stay away from that person, have no contact with that person,
and surrender any firearms that you may have within 24 hours. After there's a
hearing date set you can file your written response like I said and
present your side of the story. When the hearing happens the judge then decides
whether or not they're going to issue this restraining order based on evidence
presented from both sides. And if the restraining order is granted, a permanent
restraining order is granted, those can last for up to five years and they can
be renewed. This order is civil so this is not criminal but violating the
restraining order makes it criminal. It becomes a misdemeanor offense, sometimes
a felony offense depending on the severity of the violation. It can affect
your firearm possession rights, it can affect your custody rights, your
employment, your background checks. So if a permanent order is granted you can't
contact the person, you can't communicate with them in any way shape or form, all
the terms will be listed there. But if you are served with a temporary
restraining order and you need to respond, main things to remember is don't
contact the other person, keep all of your records and consider hiring an
attorney for the hearing. It's always helpful.