Restraining orders must be gotten through the court system and they begin with a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO). This is typically conducted through the Family Part of the Chancery Division of the Superior Court in the county court system. You can file a request in the county where you live, where the abuse has taken place or where the abuser lives. The forms must be filled out carefully and the details of the incidences prompting the request should be recounted. Wait to sign the paperwork because you may need it to be notarized or signed in front of the clerk. 

A TRO may be granted immediately if the court deems it as a necessary protection of health or well-being. A TRO can be filed in person or in the complainants absence with a sworn testimony or the sworn testimony of a representative should that be necessary. Generally TROs are filed in person and there must be a reason for this absence for the court to grant an immediate TRO. 

Temporary restraining orders are handled the same day they are filed and require only that the person asking for the restraining order (also called the petitioner) sign the request or testimony under penalty of perjury. The grounds for a restraining order to be granted typically involve some type of harassment, violence, property damage, stalking or other intimidating or abusive behavior. 

Once a TRO is granted a hearing date is set during which a judge may hear out both sides of the dispute and judge whether a final restraining order is appropriate. Restraining orders are not criminal convictions so the standard of evidence is not as high as in criminal law. The level of proof necessary for the judge to rule in favor of the petitioner is called preponderance of evidence. 

This means that the permanent restraining order (PRO) will be granted if the judge finds it more likely than not that the petitioner is telling the truth. 

The logic of restraining orders and their evidentiary standard

Many of the circumstances that cause petitioners to want restraining orders do not have witnesses to them and do not take place in public or under any type of surveillance. The behaviors in question may not leave any trail of evidence at all. Thus, restraining orders do not need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In return for this lowered evidentiary standard, restraining orders do not actually produce a criminal record or result in criminal penalties like fines, community service or jail or prison time. 

How can you get the desired outcome in the hearing for the Permanent Restraining order?

Cases are won and lost on the basis of the perceived truthfulness of the two parties. All of the normal courtroom means of demonstrating your own honesty and potentially the untruthfulness of the other party feature in these hearings. These include witnesses, evidence, documents, testimony and the skilled navigation of the legal system through qualified representation.