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Importance of Following Maryland Protective Orders

Domestic violence is a term that describes domestic relationships, or even people that have a child in common, and there is abuse going on. Typically, the abusive behavior is committed by the man but that is not always the case.

There are certainly exceptions to that rule as women are also capable of being abusive in a relationship. A possible solution is for the person being abused to get a protective order and in Maryland that requires a person to petition the court to ask for that. Speak with a skilled protective order attorney can help you better comprehend why it is important to follow Maryland protective orders.

Treatment of Domestic Violence Cases

In criminal law, domestic violence is specifically addressed when it comes to the issue of whether or not the person can be arrested without a warrant. Generally speaking, the police cannot arrest a person, on sight, for a crime that does not occur in the officer’s presence. An exception is if the allegation involves domestic violence; the officer has the ability to go ahead and make a warrantless arrest and, immediately on sight, arrest that person.

What is a Protective Order?

A protective order is the court telling a person not to have contact with the accuser. It is so incredibly important for people to understand what the protective order says and what they are allowed to do or not to do. Something else is that sometimes a person will seek out a protective order and the parties will reconcile later on and they assume they can simply disregard the protective order.

However, the order remains in effect unless the petitioner goes back to court to ask that the order is rescinded. It is incredibly important that if the other person is reaching out or attempting to have contact with that they ignore that. Any contact that a person has or any decisions between the two of them to disregard the protective order could lead to the person being charged criminally. Therefore, it can be critical for the defendant to understand why it is important to follow Maryland protective orders.

Importance of Abiding by Protective Orders

It is very important for a person to understand and follow the terms of a protective order because if a person is accused of violating the terms of a protective order, there are very serious consequences. The first is that it would be considered a criminal offense and the person could be arrested.

If they went to court and they were convicted of violating the protective order, there is a very high likelihood that they are going to go to jail, even if the person has no criminal record whatsoever. That’s because judges take protective orders incredibly seriously.

Risks of Violating Protection Orders

The consequences of breaking the terms of of a family violence order is the main issue when grasping why it is important to follow Maryland protective orders. There are two different types of consequences for violating a protective order: civil and criminal consequences. If a person violates a protective order then they are in contempt and they can be charged, criminally, with violating a protective order and be arrested immediately.

Depending on the facts of the violation, it is possible that a judge makes that person stay in jail until their trial date. Oftentimes, if a person is charged criminally with violating a protective order, they are given the maximum sentence.

Should a person have any questions about what a protective order means or what the terms of it are, they should contact an attorney immediately. If they are the respondent of a protective order and the other party is attempting to have contact with them, again, they should immediately reach out to an attorney and get advice about what to do.

Protective Orders in Maryland Assault Cases
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