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Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California

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  • 11-23-2012, 07:32 PM
    regank33
    Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    My question involves restraining orders in the State of: California, Torrance

    I want your advice if it is possible and if so, can I simply go to the court where it was issued and have a court hearing, to get this order of protection lifted.

    I'm a 24 yr old male college student who lives with parents.

    Dated a girl for 6 years who all of a sudden wanted nothing to do with me and filed for the restraining order.

    My reasons for wanting removal is simply the fear I get from going anywhere except my house. Also the order affecting my chance of getting security clearance at an aerospace company. I will be graduating with an electrical engineering degree soon.

    She lives 3 houses away from my best friend, which I can never go to, because I'm afraid she will think I'm trying to contact her and call the police to have me arrested. I live only a couple of blocks away from her.
    I have never been violent, never touched her physically. I have never been in trouble with the law of any sort.

    The DV-130 was issued 5 months ago for a 2 year period.

    I did not go to the court hearing when she filed a temporary restraining order against me, since I thought she needed a 1 month cooling off period and would not proceed to get a 2 year order against me.

    I have no desire to communicate with her, as the damage has already been done. I simply don't want to have this on my record and want it out of the way.

    The basis for her getting the restraining order against me is me calling her and text messaging her. In one of my text I did however reluctantly threaten to paralyze her but shortly after said that I did not mean what I had just said. This was enough for her to get the restraining order against me.

    My question is, is it possible to go the the court house that it was issued and have a court hearing to remove the DV-130 without hiring a lawyer or spending money?

    Thank you for your time.
  • 11-23-2012, 09:21 PM
    aardvarc
    Re: Lifting a Dv-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    Quote:

    Quoting regank33
    View Post
    I did not go to the court hearing when she filed a temporary restraining order against me, since I thought she needed a 1 month cooling off period and would not proceed to get a 2 year order against me.


    Why on earth would you think this? The notice of hearing was to allow you (and/or your attorney) to ATTEND the hearing to fight against the order. If you chose not to show up to fight the order when the window was open for you to do so, it's a done deal as far as the court is concerned. The court isn't going to listen to your side now. The only grounds where the court MAY consider setting aside the order are if you can show the court that the petitioner has acted in such a way that would make the court believe that she now WANTS contact with you. Short of that, you're going to have to wait out the two years. And, be aware that she may be able to ask for the order to be renewed, so if you get ANOTHER notice of hearing, don't ignore this one.
  • 11-23-2012, 10:20 PM
    cdwjava
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    Quote:

    Quoting regank33
    View Post
    Dated a girl for 6 years who all of a sudden wanted nothing to do with me and filed for the restraining order.

    That's certainly NOT what was related to the court by the ex.

    Quote:

    The DV-130 was issued 5 months ago for a 2 year period.
    Two years is odd ... the standard term is three.

    Quote:

    I did not go to the court hearing when she filed a temporary restraining order against me, since I thought she needed a 1 month cooling off period and would not proceed to get a 2 year order against me.
    Then you are sort of hosed. That hearing was when you would have tried to convince the court that you were NOT a threat to her. Simply you never attended court, the order was issued without challenge. I suspect you never filed a response as directed by the service paperwork you received, either.

    The paperwork you received should have indicated what you needed to do. At the very least it contained the court date and the contact info for the court. The fact that you made some erroneous assumptions is on you, not the court or the ex.

    Quote:

    I have no desire to communicate with her, as the damage has already been done. I simply don't want to have this on my record and want it out of the way.
    Understandable. But, it may not be that easy to get it back before a judge. You can hire an attorney who is experienced in family law issues to help you, or you can try to get this back before the court. You might have to make a few phone calls or visit the court directly to find out how to get this before a judge ... if you can. It is possible to get these withdrawn, but so exceedingly rare as they are unheard or. Absent some new info to show that she lied, or that she is NOT afraid of you, don't expect a judge to entertain anything you have to say. You had your chance and blew it off. Sorry.

    And, yes, it may very well have an effect on your ability to obtain a security clearance. One of the problems with youth is that they often fail to realize that actions have consequences ... perhaps it is because we parents have spent too much time shielding our little darlings from owies, scrapes, and legal consequences that they take such immunity as a given.

    Quote:

    The basis for her getting the restraining order against me is me calling her and text messaging her. In one of my text I did however reluctantly threaten to paralyze her but shortly after said that I did not mean what I had just said. This was enough for her to get the restraining order against me.
    That could certainly be enough. And since you did not care enough to refute the allegations the judge erred on the side of caution and issued the order.

    Quote:

    My question is, is it possible to go the the court house that it was issued and have a court hearing to remove the DV-130 without hiring a lawyer or spending money?
    REMOVING a DV TRO is not so easy. While it is possible that you can do it yourself, it is not all that likely.
  • 12-02-2012, 07:16 PM
    untouchedworld
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    Were you served?

    Make a motion to vacate. State your claims there. See what happens. Get an attorney for this.
    Avoid the woman at all costs from then on.

    I've continually found that emotionally unstable women are the ones who go to file at the drop of a threat.
    It's often that vindictive ex-girlfriends go and do this stuff.
    Some women just want a chance at being vindictive to their boyfriends, because they're holding a grudge.
    Some of these women are man-haters.


    Here is what you need to do:
    Gather the evidence during which you said you would paralyze her and meant that you weren't and that you were sorry.
    Discuss the fact that you two were in the relationship for six years.
    Gather witnesses to describe the character of the relationship and whether or not it was turbulent or you two got along really well.
    If you have evidence of when you two broke up, and it was shortly before she filed the restraining order, collect and use it.
    If you know who some of her ex-boyfriends are, talk to them and see if they can be character witnesses to her vindictive behavior and emotional instability.
    If she was on medication and you can use a witness or evidence to prove that, use it to prove mental instability.

    Oh, and hire an attorney.
  • 12-02-2012, 07:33 PM
    cdwjava
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    If it was issued for two years, then proof of service was provided to the court. he also admits to NOT attending the hearing ... ouch for him.

    Most courts are not going to entertain a motion to vacate the order without something new. he had his chance to contest the order, but chose not to go.

    But, yes, he can pay a lot of money for an attorney to file this and that, and maybe even get a new hearing. But, the odds of it being reversed is slim.
  • 12-02-2012, 07:40 PM
    untouchedworld
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    My view from dealing with this is stuff is "try anyway." See where it goes.
    But I really suggest the original poster find some good evidence before trying.
    Because otherwise, it seems a little silly to have nothing good to argue with and then show up.

    Unless the judge bars the original poster from talking about things or the petitioner tries to suppress/quash, he could attempt to talk his views regardless of new evidence. But if he loses that round, he'll have to wait and try later with something much better.

    Also, I keep getting this feeling from aardvarc and cdwjava that you two hold a pessimistic feel to a lot of this stuff.
  • 12-02-2012, 07:57 PM
    cdwjava
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    You might call it pessimism, we call it realism. We deal with this stuff every day. While hope is great - and it springs eternal - giving false hope is not a good thing. And any REAL attempt to revisit the issue with an attorney is likely to cost at the low end about $2-3,000 just to get a coin toss with the judge. But, if money is no object, heck, try anything.

    When I have seen these orders altered it is often because the protected party does not oppose the change in the order or actively supports it. Even then, the judge is more likely to modify from NO contact to PEACEFUL contact rather than remove it entirely.

    The problem the OP has is that he had his day in court, and he CHOSE not to appear. The court may not be too keen on the expense of a new hearing when the original one should have been just fine.
  • 12-02-2012, 08:03 PM
    untouchedworld
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    Well, the issue has to do with filing of the motion to vacate. It wouldn't be good enough to state "I wasn't sure what to do. But now I am." And then turn it into the circuit clerk with the hope that they'll take you serious.

    The original poster has already stated belief for the individual being mentally unstable. A month is quite some time to give a person to cool off from one single threat, especially when the relationship lasted six years. I suspect he has some reasoning as to why it would take that long for her to cool off. And if it's because he understands she can be an unstable person, all he has to do is prove that with evidence/witnesses.
    Quote:

    MOTION TO VACATE
    I wasn't sure what to do. But now I am.

    X regank33
    Not a good approach.

    Man, a lot of this stuff is easy second-semester college English. Basic argumentation. But the legalese is where stuff matters.
  • 12-02-2012, 08:25 PM
    cdwjava
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    Quote:

    Quoting untouchedworld
    View Post
    The original poster has already stated belief for the individual being mentally unstable.

    We hear that every day about the ex ... absent some sort of clinical determination that might also include a tendency to enter into flights of fancy and lies, the fact that an ex says their former partner is mentally unstable will elicit little more than a yawn from the court.

    Quote:

    A month is quite some time to give a person to cool off from one single threat, especially when the relationship lasted six years. I suspect he has some reasoning as to why it would take that long for her to cool off. And if it's because he understands she can be an unstable person, all he has to do is prove that with evidence/witnesses.
    He had that chance ... he did not attend the hearing. And unless his witnesses include a qualified psychologist and that the medical determination shows a proclivity towards making stuff up, why should it be given any weight now?

    Yes, it is possible that the OP lives in a location where the courts have time on their hands to revisit these matters. But, in most parts of this state right now, that just ain't the case. He MIGHT get a hearing in a few months ... maybe ... if the court is open to hear it without anything new. I doubt it will be, but, ya never know.

    It doesn't hurt him to try if he has the money. But, a real effort with an attorney is going to be costly. A local family law attorney might be able to give him some idea of how much of a chance he has to get before a judge without any new evidence, and how likely a local court might be in modifying the order. Most consultations are free .. it is the effort that will be costly.
  • 12-02-2012, 08:39 PM
    untouchedworld
    Re: Lifting a DV-130 (Order of Protection) in California
    Well, yes, probabilities are a big factor. That's why I say it's pessimistic to give a hasty generalization. The realism comes in with a social science descriptor (statistics on past events) rather than anecdotal experience. Even then, anecdotal experience from a single attorney is not worthwhile, thus giving more reason to talk to multiple attorneys rather than one to obtain a general ideal as to what the probability of getting a hearing is. I used to be very much into the social sciences and humanities. Given the ability to look at the historical aspects of past cases and to review what has been allowed to deem a hearing from a motion to vacate, one can get insight as to how to approach a motion to vacate. At that point, the person is gaming the system. Seems like some attorneys have a grasp on the research involved to compute knowledge on what works and what does not.

    So, my view of realism comes from knowledge of rhetoric, statistics, barriers to entry, and the linguistics involved to allow the bivariant acceptance to have a hearing. I'm different, though, because I have a Ph.D level IQ.

    The original poster seems to be an engineer. All he has to do is treat it as an engineering problem. That will take time, but it's not impossible.

    One aspect is that he could get a hearing, make a motion to suppress evidence of the ex-gf and claim (right?) she hasn't laid foundation to prove it was him. It depends on how volatile the evidence is/was. So, he could just put in the motion to vacate that false allegations occurred. I feel as though with saying this that perhaps this is going in the unethical advice section. If it were a cell phone, perhaps the message were deleted. Furthermore, with the calculus (rate of change) by which people get new cell phones, it's possible that if it were a cell phone message, the message was erased, deleted, and/or a new cell phone was obtained. This would also be dependent on how much time has passed. A little investigation would help in this point. Were it an Internet message, there would still be the need to show that it was him.
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