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In Florida, there are four types of civil injunctions for protection:
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Domestic Violence
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Repeat Violence
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Dating Violence
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Sexual Violence
Injunctions for Protection Against Domestic Violence are a common addition to almost all domestic violence cases. Often times, victims and even the person accused of domestic violence, will seek an injunction (restraining order) to prevent any furthers acts of violence. To qualify for domestic violence you have to meet the same criteria as a domestic violence case. If not, then one of the other 3 types of injunctions comes in to play.
Repeat Violence Injunction: Florida law defines repeat violence as two incidents of violence or stalking, one of which must have occurred within the last 6 months, which are directed against the Petitioner (the person applying for the injunction) or the petitioner’s immediate family.
Dating Violence Injunction: Dating violence is violence between individuals who have had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The existence of such a relationship is determined by the consideration of several factors:
The dating relationship must have existed within the last 6 months.
The law states that the relationship must be characterized by the expectation of affection or sexual involvement between the parties and the interaction between them has been on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship.
This does not include casual relationships or violence between individuals who have only engaged in ordinary interaction in a business or social context.
Sexual Violence Injunction: This injunction can be obtained for protection against sexual violence if you are the victim of sexual violence or you are the parent or legal guardian of a minor child living at home who is the victim of sexual violence. Under this Florida law, sexual violence means:
Sexual battery,
A lewd or lascivious act committed on a person under age 16,
Sexual performance by a child
Or any other forcible felony wherein a sexual act is committed or attempted.
It does not matter if criminal charges based on the incident were filed, reduced or dismissed by the State Attorney. However, the law also requires that the sexual violence has been reported to a law enforcement agency and that the victim is cooperating with any criminal proceeding against the respondent, regardless of whether criminal charges stemming from the sexual violence have been filed, reduced or dismissed; or requires that the respondent who committed the sexual violence was sentenced to a term of imprisonment in state a prison and that term of imprisonment has expired or is due to expire within 90 days following the date the petition is filed.
The laws involving the criteria for issuing an injunction for protection against sexual violence are more complicated than those for other types of protective injunctions. If you are considering filing for this type of injunction please contact me to provide you proper advice.
If you have been served with an injunction you need an attorney that will go to court and speak on your behalf. I can not tell you how often I have seen people get a Final Injunction simply because they went to court and spoke for themselves. The case becomes very one sided and many times the victim will be represented by an attorney from Legal Aid.
Of course, if you want to get an injunction against your violent partner, I can also take care of that. The first thing I do is file a Petition for the Injunction. You have to swear to it and sign in in front of the Deputy Clerk in court. Then we are done with this part. The judge will review your petition and if the judge finds that you are in imminent danger of becoming a victim then the judge will enter a Temporary Injunction. You will then have 15 days before the court date when a hearing will be held to determine if a Final Injunction will be entered. A Final Injunction can last anywhere from months to permanent. At the hearing we will subpoena any and all witnesses that can help your case and establish the history of abuse. We will show any pictures and other documents to solidify your case. The goal is to prove that you are in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence. And if you were served with the injunction, the goal is to prove that there is no danger.
What type of relief can I get from an Injunction?
The court may grant the following relief:
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Injunctive relief to protect the petitioner from domestic violence
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Temporary custody of the parties' minor children
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Temporay Visitation
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Temporary Child Support
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Temporary Alimony
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Exclusive use and possesion of the parties residence
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Prohibiting possession of firearms by the respondent (this one is mandatory unless the respondent is a law enforcement officer who qualifies under the exception in Florida Statute 741.31(4)(b)2.
If you are thinking about getting an injunction or have been served with an injunction please contact me today to review your options.
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