Simone Lawson
Protective orders in Texas are court orders issued to prevent continuing acts of family violence, human trafficking, or stalking. Protective orders are civil orders, so petitioners must provide evidence of the abuser's behaviour. Protective orders are often confused with restraining orders, which are also official court documents that order the abuser to avoid contact with the victim or risk facing legal consequences. There are three types of protective orders in Texas: emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To prevent continuing acts of family violence, human trafficking, or stalking |
| Types | Emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders |
| Who can request it? | The victim (the petitioner) or someone acting on their behalf |
| Who decides the duration? | A judge |
| Evidence required | Evidence of the abuser's behaviour |
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What You'll Learn
- Protective orders are civil orders
- Protective orders are distinct from restraining orders
- Protective orders are found in the Family Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure
- Protective orders can be requested by the victim or someone acting on their behalf
- Protective orders can be used to prevent acts of family violence, including in a dating relationship
Protective orders are civil orders
A protective order is an official court document that orders the abuser to avoid contact with the victim, or risk facing legal consequences such as contempt of court. Its purpose is to protect victims from further abuse. A protective order can be requested by the victim (the petitioner) or someone acting on their behalf. A judge decides the duration of the order, which can range from a few days to several years.
There are three types of protective orders in Texas: emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders. Each of these has different requirements in terms of grounds and evidence. For example, emergency protective orders are usually initiated when the abuser is arrested for a violent crime. The court may issue the order without the victim requesting it, and the victim isn't required to appear in court. The court must believe the victim is in immediate danger, and information from the responding law enforcement officer is often sufficient for the court to make this determination.
For other types of protective orders, the petitioner must provide evidence of the abuser's behaviour. While it can be difficult to show evidence of many types of abuse, the standard of proof is not as high in civil court cases as it is in criminal cases. Petitioners must only prove their case by "a preponderance of the evidence", which means that they must show that it is more likely than not that abuse occurred.
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Protective orders are distinct from restraining orders
There are three types of protective orders in Texas: emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders. Emergency protective orders are usually initiated when the abuser is arrested for a violent crime. The court may issue the order without the victim requesting it, and the victim isn't required to appear in court. The court must believe the victim is in immediate danger, and information from the responding law enforcement officer is often all that's needed for the court to make this determination.
Temporary restraining orders are used in the civil context to avoid some sort of immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage. In a family case, a temporary restraining order can bind the other parent or spouse from certain conduct like transporting a child out of state, unenrolling them from school, withdrawing funds, taking out loans, or disposing of property.
A restraining order is an official court document that orders the abuser to avoid contact with the victim or risk facing legal consequences, such as contempt of court. Its purpose is to protect victims from further abuse. A restraining order can be requested by the victim (the petitioner) or someone acting on their behalf. A judge decides the duration of the restraining order, which can range from a few days to several years. Depending on the type of restraining order the petitioner seeks, the judge will base their decision on the information the petitioner provides either in their application or court hearing.
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Protective orders are found in the Family Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure
There are three types of protective orders in Texas: emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders. Each of these protective orders has different requirements as far as grounds and evidence are concerned. Emergency protective orders are usually initiated when the abuser is arrested for a violent crime. The court may issue the order without the victim requesting it, and the victim isn't required to appear in court. The court must believe the victim is in immediate danger, and information from the responding law enforcement officer is often all that's needed for the court to make this determination.
Temporary restraining orders are used in the civil context to avoid some sort of immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage. In a family case, they can bind the other parent or spouse from certain conduct like transporting a child out-of-state, unenrolling them from school, withdrawing funds, taking out loans, or disposing of property. Protective orders are sometimes confused with restraining orders because both terms have multiple meanings under Texas law.
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Protective orders can be requested by the victim or someone acting on their behalf
Protective orders in Texas are used to prevent acts of family violence, human trafficking, or stalking. They can also be used to prevent sexual assault, including in a dating relationship. Protective orders are civil orders, so the petitioner must provide evidence of the abuser's behaviour. The standard of proof is not as high as in criminal cases, and petitioners must only prove their case by "a preponderance of the evidence", meaning they must show that it's more likely than not that abuse occurred.
Protective orders can be requested by the victim (the petitioner) or someone acting on their behalf. A judge decides the duration of the order, which can range from a few days to several years. The judge will base their decision on the information provided by the petitioner in their application or court hearing.
There are three types of protective orders in Texas: emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders. Emergency protective orders are usually initiated when the abuser is arrested for a violent crime, and the court may issue the order without the victim requesting it. The court must believe the victim is in immediate danger, and information from the responding law enforcement officer is often enough for the court to make this determination. Temporary ex parte protective orders and final protective orders require different levels of evidence and grounds.
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Protective orders can be used to prevent acts of family violence, including in a dating relationship
Protective orders are civil orders, so the petitioner must provide evidence of the abuser's behaviour. The standard of proof is not as high as in criminal cases, and petitioners must only prove their case by a "preponderance of the evidence", meaning they must show that it is more likely than not that abuse occurred. A judge will decide the duration of the order, which can range from a few days to several years.
There are three types of protective orders in Texas: emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders. Emergency protective orders are usually initiated when the abuser is arrested for a violent crime and the court believes the victim is in immediate danger. Temporary ex parte protective orders can be used in the civil context to avoid immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage. For example, they can bind the other parent or spouse from certain conduct like transporting a child out-of-state or withdrawing funds. Final protective orders are issued when the court has determined that the victim is in danger and the abuser must avoid contact with them or risk facing legal consequences.
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Frequently asked questions
A protective order is a court order issued to prevent continuing acts of family violence, human trafficking, or stalking. Protective orders are civil orders, so if the petitioner can provide evidence of the abuser's behaviour, the judge may grant the order.
There are three types of protective orders in Texas: emergency protective orders, temporary ex parte protective orders, and final protective orders.
The petitioner must provide evidence to support their case. The standard of proof is not as high in civil court cases as it is in criminal cases. Petitioners must only prove their case by "a preponderance of the evidence", which means that they must show that it's more likely than not that abuse occurred.
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