Letter of Explanation for a Restraining Order

Focus upon facts when writing a restraining order letter.

A restraining order is most commonly requested by victims of domestic abuse. Seeking immediate judicial protection from the domestic abuser, the restraining order is issued on a temporary basis. The court will conduct a hearing to determine whether this temporary restraining order should be granted on a permanent basis. Victims seeking this permanent restraining order must provide the court with a statement or letter explaining the reasons for the permanent request.

Facts

A restraining order is a form of protective relief granted by a judge to limit contact between the abuser and victim. Although the statutory requirements for obtaining a restraining order may vary slightly by jurisdiction, most jurisdictions require victims to follow similar steps. The first step is to obtain the temporary, immediate protective order, temporary restraining order or "order to stay away."

Secondly, the victim must provide a letter of explanation for a permanent restraining order. This letter is a written statement, under oath, in support of a permanent restraining order. Since the abuser's constitutional right to freedom may be severely restricted, there must be an opportunity for a full hearing. The letter of explanation will be used as evidence during the hearing in support of a permanent restraining order.

Considerations

The victim's letter of explanation in support of a restraining order should not include extraneous information. Focusing upon the abuser's multiple female acquaintances and his propensity for spending significant sums of money on them is not material to the issuance of a restraining order. Furthermore, a judge may view the restraining order as a thinly veiled attempt to punish him for past behavior, not for the legitimate purpose of avoiding future physical harm.

Features

Since the letter of explanation for a restraining order will become part of the court record and may also be used as future evidence, the supporting paragraphs must be well thought-out. The circumstances surrounding domestic abuse, such as fear of imminent harm, may not allow victims to provide an accurate and thorough statement of facts as to why the permanent restraining order should be granted.

If possible, provide a full statement of facts using non-limiting language such as, "including," "not limited to," and "during other incidents." This allows you to provide further details, if requested. Focus upon the immediate physical threats of violence, based upon past conduct.

Reasons

The letter should fully state all of the reasons you're requesting a restraining order, indicating specific verbal or written threats that were made. For example, if you're in the midst of filing for divorce and your spouse threatened you with retaliatory physical harm, include those facts. Provide any criminal history and incidents of past violence, even if it involved other victims. Provide dates and the docket number of any criminal hearings, if available. You may attach police incident reports.

Provide the physical results of any incidents between the victim and abuser. You may attach hospital records. If you do not have them, you may pay a copy fee and obtain those hospital records.

Prevention/Solution

If the permanent restraining order is granted, use the terms of the order seriously and immediately report every single violation, regardless of its outcome, to local authorities.

According to a 2003 report prepared prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice, intimate partners were responsible for 33 percent of all female homicides. The rate is 4 percent for male homicide victims. Furthermore, the Department of Justice says that approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States.

References

• "Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief"; Intimate Partner Violence 1993-2001"; Callie Marie Rennison; 2003
• "Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women"; Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey"; Patricia Tjaden & Nancy Thoennes; 2000

Resources

• American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence: Recent Statistics