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CAN
THEY DO THAT??
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
WRIGHT
& MILLS, P.A.
MY
WIFE GOT A PROTECTION FROM ABUSE ORDER
TELLING ME TO STAY AWAY FROM HER, BUT SHE
KEEPS CALLING ME. IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO TALK
TO HER , ISN'T IT?
No,
it's not!
A
Protection From Abuse order is an official
order of the court, not a private letter
from your wife that she can change as she
pleases.
It
is a one-way order that prohibits you, not
her, from making contact. If she calls you
up or comes to see you and you talk with
her, then you can be arrested for
violating the order. She will not be
arrested because the order is not against
her.
As
unfair as this situation may seem,
protection from abuse orders are generally
issued for good reason and they cannot be
changed until the hearing
date.
A
protection from abuse order is issued by
the court to protect one party--or the
party's children--from alleged abuse by
another household member. Once it is
served on you, you have to obey the order
until it is changed or dismissed by the
court. You will have a chance to tell the
judge your side of the story at a hearing
that is held within twenty-one days.
The
courts take these proceedings very
seriously because so many domestic
quarrels end up with people seriously hurt
or killed and their children injured or
traumatized for life. More than half of
the homicides in Maine so far this year
have been acts of domestic violence.
These
tragedies are preventable. Protection from
abuse orders require that people have a
cooling off period so they won't lose
their temper and do something they will
regret later. In a sense, these orders are
for everyone's benefit.
So,
remember, if an order is served on you,
you can be arrested for making contact
with your spouse, even if she calls you
and you speak with her.
It's
the law!
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