Lisa Pelosi: Yes, but the custody issue is not going to be dealt with in criminal court. That issue is going to be resolved in family court. The criminal court can indicate in the order of protection that the accused not have any contact, not only with the spouse, but also the children.
Most of the times the criminal court will make the criminal court order of protection subject to change by family court, so essentially criminal court yields to the powers of family court. Basically they’re saying we the criminal court say that you should not have contact with your child unless and/until family court dictates that you may. That’s usually how it’s handled in most jurisdictions.
Different Terminologies Used for an Order of Protection
Interviewer: The terms no contact order, protection order, and restraining order, how do they all differ from each other and how do they all work?
Lisa Pelosi: Essentially it’s just under the umbrella term of an order of protection. Different places will call it different things, but essentially it’s coming from the court. It’s not coming from the alleged victim in the case. In fact, in some cases the victim doesn’t want the order of protection, but it’s the judge that’s ordering that you must stay away from another party and often times it’s your own children.
It is Not Advisable To Contact The Other Party if There Is an Order of Protection Against You
Interviewer: Let’s say I’m going through a domestic violence case right now and let’s say my spouse who accused me is attempting to contact me or text me. Should I contact them back or what should I do?
Lisa Pelosi: The way this works is that the order runs by the court to an individual to stay away from another individual. Even if the individual who the order of protection is in favor contacts the person who the order of protection is against the burden is on the person who the order of protection is against to not respond and not, so to speak, take the bait and answer.
It’s not a defense to a violation of an order of protection to say hey I didn’t contact her or him, he or she contacted me. The person who the order of protection is against must always under all circumstances not have any communication with the person who the order of protection is in favor of.
Adhering to an Order of Protection Is Difficult Especially When There’s Family and Children Involved
Often times somebody will pick up their phone, a client will pick up his or her phone, and there will be a blocked call or there will be a call from another number not known to my client and it’s actually on the other end of the phone or email or text is the person who initially requested the order of protection and now they’ve changed their mind.
If my client decides to even answer back that alone is a violation of the order of protection and that’s a really hard thing for most of my clients to understand because their freedom to communicate with someone that they love or once loved is taken away by the court. It’s a very difficult concept, especially when children are involved.
Contact on Social Media Is Also Considered A Violation of Order of Protection
Interviewer: Have you ever seen cases where social media ever comes into play?
Lisa Pelosi: Well social media does come into play because of just stuff with the Internet and other areas. Orders of protection are really clear that’s it’s any contact, not just a telephone call.
