What is a Protective Order?
Are you being stalked or harassed? You may qualify for a protective order. I’m Oklahoma attorney Lindsay McDowell. Protective orders can be filed if you feel that you are in imminent bodily harm or if you’re being stalked, which means you’re being continually followed or harassed, or if you’re being harassed where someone is bothering you, contacting you over and over again, whether it’s in person or by text message or email.
Who Can Qualify for a Protective Order?
Now, certain people qualify for protective orders. That is someone within your family, whether that be a blood relative or a spouse or an ex-spouse or even a spouse of an ex-spouse. It could also be someone who you’re currently living with, even if you’re not married, or someone who you’ve lived with in the past. It could also be a parent or a child that you share together, or it could even be someone who’s not related to you if they are threatening you with imminent bodily harm.
How to Obtain a Protective Order
Now, in order to obtain a protective order, you have to go to a district court. It must be in the county in which you live or where the perpetrator lives. You will fill out a form and you must be sure to identify every specific incident that you think qualifies for entering a protective order. You can seek an emergency protective order that the court will enter immediately and then set for hearing within 10 days, or you can obtain and apply for a regular protective order, which will then be set for hearing.
In either situation, the court will require that evidence be presented, and you may be required to also be in the same room as your perpetrator when evidence is offered. You can apply for a protective order without attorney assistance, but sometimes it’s helpful to have an attorney to help you understand what information needs to be listed in your protective order and then also to help you present evidence and testimony at the hearing on a protective order.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
I’d be happy to answer your questions or provide more information. You can reach me, a Pryor protective order lawyer, at (918) 932-2862 or get more information at pryorattorney.com.