How to File a Restraining/Protection From Abuse Order

By Alex McGrorty and Matt O'Toole

The bureaucratic task my partner and I chose was the process of filing a Restraining Order, or a Protection from Abuse Order.

The process is fairly straightforward, if somewhat tedious. Basically, to file one of these orders, a person has to go to their local county Court of Common Pleas. Upon arriving there and finding the area where a restraining order can be made, there will be several court forms to fill out, such as the Application for Relief from Abuse, the Affidavit for Relief from Abuse and the Request for Nondisclosure of Location. These each respectively give different aspects of the problem.

The Application for Relief from Abuse is a form where the plaintiff (the victim or person filing the order) writes their basic personal information, such as name, address and contact information.

The Affidavit for Relief from Abuse is a form where the plaintiff details what happened to them or what abuse they suffered to make them file the order.

The Request for Nondisclosure of Location is a form the plaintiff will fill out to keep their location classified, so that their abuser cannot access the information. The victim’s location and contact information will have to be on file in this process, and the file is able to accessed by the public, therefore this document is a safety measure to keep the defendant from being able to access it themselves.

These documents should be given to a court clerk, who will present the case to a judge. There will be a hearing regarding the issue, and if the judge decides the case to be legitimate, they can have the order served. However, this will be temporary and only last until the secondary hearing, which will take place after 14 days.

After the 14 day (2 week) period of deliberation, the plaintiff will be summoned to another hearing, where the judge will determine whether the order needs to last another 180 days.  Any evidence or witnesses should be present during this hearing (there is additional documents and forms to be filled out if there is a witness involved).

If the order is given, the plaintiff must have it served by a State Marshall. The State Marshall will deliver the order to the offender (abuser) and order them to obey the limitations of the order. All involved should obey the restraining order, if there is any unlawful contact between parties, the police should be involved immediately.

If there was one thing we could change, I suppose it would be to lessen the 14-day waiting period. Or possibly eliminate the secondary hearing entirely. While I understand this is a period of deliberation by the court officials, if a person is in serious danger and felt threatened enough to file a restraining/protection from abuse order in the first place, then they should be helped immediately and not have to wait so long.

We believe systems have become more complicated because times have changed. We still use archaic bureaucratic methods, even in the face of modern technology and changing times. We possess the technology that could make the process simpler and more straightforward to meet modern needs. 

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