Resource for a Recourse: Online Resource Center for Survivors of Abuse

NORTH CAROLINA : Restraining Order & Order of Protection Information

TYPES OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS
BENEFITS
COSTS
VIOLATIONS

Domestic violence in NC is when someone you have had a "personal relationship" with does any of the following to you or your minor child:

attempts to cause bodily injury, or intentionally causes bodily injury; or
places you or a member of your family or household in fear of imminent serious bodily injury; or
conducts continued harassment, that rises to such a level as to inflict substantial emotional distress; or
commits any rape or sexual offense.

You can seek legal protection from acts of domestic violence done to you or your minor child by someone you have had a "personal relationship" with. This means you can seek protection from:

Your spouse, or ex-spouse,
A person of the opposite sex with whom you live or used to live,
Someone you are related to, including parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren, over the age of 16,
Someone with whom you have a child in common,
A current or former household member, or
Someone of the opposite sex whom you are dating or have dated

A dating relationship is one where you are romantically involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary fraternization between persons in a business or social context is not a dating relationship. Note that under the legal definition, you may seek protection from a same-sex partner who has been a household member of yours. However, judges do not always rule consistently in these cases. Please talk to someone at a local domestic violence organization for help determining how a judge is likely to rule and for help presenting your case to the judge.

Teens under the age of 18 need a parent or guardian to file for a protection order on their behalf.

Types of protective orders:

An Ex Parte/Temporary Protective Order

This is a court order designed to provide you and your family members with immediate protection from your abuser. A judge may issue an ex parte order on the day you file your petition for a Domestic Violence Protective Order if s/he believes that there is a serious and immediate danger to you or your child. An Ex Parte/Temporary Protective Order is usually issued without your abuser present ("ex parte").

A Final Domestic Violence Protective Order (also called a DVPO or a 50B)

This offers the same type of protection as an Ex Parte/Temporary Protective Order, but it lasts longer. Since it lasts longer, you will have to have a full court hearing to get a final Domestic Violence Protective Order. In this hearing, your abuser will have a chance to mount a defense. Your abuser has to be served with notice of the hearing so he has an opportunity to attend. An Ex Parte/Temporary Protective Order will protect you from the time you file until your full court hearing takes place, usually within 10 days. A final Domestic Violence Protective Order lasts up to one year. You can ask the court to extend the order for another year or two years, but you must do so before it expires.

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Benefits:

A DVPO can do more than protect you and your children. It may:

Order the abuser not to assault, threaten, abuse, follow, harass, or interfere with you and your children in person, at work, on the telephone, or by other means;
Allow you to live in the home where you and your abuser have lived together and order the abuser to move out and not return, no matter who owns the home or is on the lease;
Order the abuser to provide suitable alternative housing for you;
Tell the police to remove the abuser from the home and help you to return to the home;
Give you possession of personal property including a car and household goods, except for the abuser's personal belongings;
Order the abuser to stay away from any place you request including your school, your children's school, your work place, your friends' homes, or any place where you are seeking shelter;
Give you temporary custody of a minor child, order the abuser to pay temporary child support, and establish temporary visitation (custody, child support, and visitation only apply if the abuser is the parent of the child);
Order your spouse to pay temporary spousal support;
Order the abuser to hand over any firearms and prohibit the abuser from purchasing a firearm;
Order the abuser to attend an abuser's treatment program;
Order the abuser to pay attorney's fees; and/or
Order the abuser to do anything else you ask for and the judge agrees to.

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Costs:

There are no fees for filing for a Domestic Violence Protective Order

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Violations:

Through the Police or Sheriff (Criminal)

If the defendant violates the DVPO, call 911 immediately. In some cases, the defendant can be arrested right away. Tell the officers you have a DVPO and the defendant is violating it. If the defendant is arrested, then the District Attorney can prosecute your abuser because it is a crime to violate a DVPO. If found guilty of a violation of a DVPO, the defendant can be put in jail for up to 150 days.

Through the Magistrate's Office (Criminal)

If the officers do not arrest the defendant immediately, you may contact the magistrate's office to ask for a criminal "warrant" for violation of the DVPO. The warrant tells the police to arrest your abuser. Then, the District Attorney can prosecute your abuser. If found guilty, your abuser can be put in jail for

Through the Civil Court System (Civil)

You may file for civil contempt for a violation of the order. The abuser is in "civil contempt" if he or she does anything that your DVPO orders him or her not to do. To file for civil contempt, go to the clerk's office and ask for a "Motion for Order to Show Cause" in a DVPO.

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