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June 2006 |
Question:
What determines the
issuance of an injunction for protection?
Answer:
There are four different
types of injunctions intended to protect victims of violence, or in some
cases, those who have a reasonable fear that violence is imminent.
A Domestic Violence Injunction may be filed if the parties have
lived together "as if a family" or have a child together. The
person filing, (the petitioner,) must be a victim of domestic violence,
or have reasonable cause to believe that violence is imminent.
To file a Repeat Violence Injunction, there must have been two
incidents of violence committed against the petitioner or the petitioner's
immediate family member, by the respondent; one of the incidents must
have been within the past six months.
A Dating Violence Injunction would apply if the parties have had
a continuing dating relationship within the past six months that involved
the expectation of affection or sexual involvement. Petitioner must be
a victim of violence or have reasonable cause to believe violence is imminent.
For the purposes of these three types of injunctions, violence means assault,
battery, sexual battery, stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment or any
other unlawful act causing physical injury or death. Assault is "an
intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person
of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some
act, which creates a well-founded fear that violence is imminent."
Battery is defined as actually and intentionally touching or striking
a person against the person's will. Stalking would include a pattern of
maliciously following or harassing a person.
There is also a Sexual Violence Injunction that may be filed when
the petitioner is a victim of a crime of sexual violence, has reported
that crime and is cooperating with law enforcement agencies; or the respondent
who committed the sexual violence was sentenced and the term of imprisonment
is expired or is due to expire within 90 days.
The Clerk's Office has forms available for your use, and once the forms are completed, forwards the file to a judge for review. The judge will determine whether to issue a Temporary Injunction with a hearing set within 15 days; set the case for hearing without a Temporary Injunction; or deny the petition. The judge's decision is based solely on what is contained in the written petition. At the hearing, a Judge will take testimony from the parties and witnesses and decide whether to issue a Final Judgment of Injunction. The Final Judgment can be in effect indefinitely or for a set period of time.
For more information
or to contact our Violence Protection division, please visit www.ManateeClerk.com.