Unlike criminal protection orders, Civil Protection Orders are not automatically entered by a Court. For a civil protection order to become effective in Colorado Springs, Pueblo or Canon City, a person must file a complaint with the Court. That person must fill out an official complaint that lists all of the reasons why they think you are a danger to them. They must file that civil complaint with the court and also have that complaint served or handed to you. Once those steps have been completed, a hearing will be set by the Court to determine if that protection order will become permanent.
Often times, clients tell our Colorado Springs attorneys that they don’t mind if the civil protection order becomes permanent because our client doesn’t plan on having any contact with that person anyway. In most cases, our Colorado Springs attorney think this is a mistake. Having a permanent protection order attached to you can add unwanted and unforeseen consequences. Just as its named, the permanent protection order is in place forever. It can be changed or dropped but there is an entirely different set of legal steps and processes that must be explicitly followed for that to happen…and it hardly ever happens.
What our criminal defense attorneys are concerned about is your possibility for being in violation of the protection order some time down the road. We have seen instances where plaintiffs have contrived or made up that our clients have violated the permanent protection order, just to get our client in trouble. If it is alleged that you have violated the civil protection order in El Paso, Pueblo, Douglas and Fremont counties, you can be charged with a misdemeanor crime. The criminal defense attorneys at Maher & Maher Law have represented many clients who had had this exact criminal charge filed against them.
At Maher & Maher Law, it is our position that you should fight to get any civil protection order filed against you dismissed completely. Being the restrained party in civil protection order does not bring you any benefit and can only cause you more legal and potentially criminal headaches down the road.
Our skilled Colorado Springs defense attorneys can help you with the civil protection process. We will aggressively contest the allegations against you and force the plaintiff to put on whatever evidence they may have. Then we will find all of the legal and factual defenses to your case and ultimately make the appeal to the judge on your behalf. Call Maher & Maher Law today for a free case consultation to discuss a specific strategy for you case! 719-301-7500