Different kinds of protection orders:
Basically you can ask the court to limit someone’s ability to contact you but you have to have a legal reason to do it. Most commonly that might be like violence, or unlawful harassment, possibly sexual assault or a vulnerable adult.
Petition
Petition is a mandatory court form that you can get from the state courts website. The petition provides the judge and the court with information about the matter.
A Declaration
A declaration is a written statement that says that someone’s saying it and they swear under penalty of perjury under the state of the laws of the state of Washington that the foregoing is true and correct.
Hearing.
When you file that petition with the court, the judge or whoever receives it will review it to find if there is sufficient evidence that in order would issue after a full hearing.
In some of these types of orders, there’s a specific time limits.
Service
Sometimes it can be hard to serve someone. Nevertheless, you’ll still have to attempt service in person before you can make that request to the court. So if you’re unable to serve, you can ask the court for leave to serve the other person in a different way.
Emergency orders
In these types of protection action, it comes as a temporary emergency order because there’s an emergency for an order without notice to the other person.
Preponderance of the evidence
A preponderance of the evidence is when it’s true that it could be this or it could be that. So if two people come with opposite descriptions of something that occurred, it’s up to the judge to decide which one of those things is truer.
Restrictions/limitations
Different types of orders might have different restrictions. Specifically, the extreme risk protection order has to do with people’s access to firearms. They can also limit your ability as a respondent to contact the petitioner or only contact them in certain ways.
Jurisdiction
Some types of protection can only be granted by the superior court and not the district courts. Also if it affects their responsibility to have communication and contact with their children, those orders can’t be more than a year in time.
Does an order exist in perpetuity? What ends it?
The order on its terms will list the duration. It could a year, it could be less. The courts do have authority to issue permanent restraining orders or permanent orders of protection.
Renewing an order
In a renewal situation, the respondent has to prove that it’s more likely than not continue to engage or re-engage in the type of conduct that led to the order being made.
How Covid has impacted the protection order process
It’s changed major ways about how the order of the petitions are accepted in most places and considered by the court, and also how the full hearing are held. You can file your petition directly through the courts website. The courts are hearing matters remotely through zoom.
