Violating a Protective Order

Protective orders are issued by courts in California domestic violence cases to prohibit an offender from committing specific acts of abuse, re-entering his or her own home or even behaving in a certain way. Violation of a protective order is one of the charges that can be brought under California's domestic violence laws.

Domestic violence laws apply to any type of intimate partners - whether they are married, divorced, cohabiting, have children in common, dating or were formerly dating. These laws apply to both heterosexual and homosexual couples.

Any violation of a protective order is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of one year jail time and a $1,000 fine. If the violation results in physical injury to the alleged victim, the offender will serve mandatory jail time of at least 30 days and the fine may rise to $2,000. In addition, if the accused has prior convictions for violating a protective order, he or she will also likely serve mandatory jail time. California courts may even punish an offender for violating an order in California that was issued in another state.

Every crime has specific elements or facts that the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction against the defendant. Each element of the charge must be independently proved or else the jury must vote "Not Guilty." In order to find the accused guilty of violating a protective order, the prosecutor must prove five elements:

The first element is that the court issued an order that prohibited the defendant from taking a specific action. In order to prove this element, the prosecution must only show that the court issued an order, which is available in the court file. The second element is that the order was issued in a domestic violence case (which means that the named parties were intimate partners), prohibiting the accused from certain conduct. The third element is that the defendant knew about the order and what it said. The prosecutor doesn't have to prove that the accused actually read the order, only that he or she had the opportunity to read it or to learn about its contents. The fourth element is that the defendant had the ability to follow the order. This means that he or she didn't face an obstacle that made it impossible to follow the court's instructions. The final element that the prosecutor needs to prove is that the accused willfully violated the court's order, which means that the violation wasn't the result of a mistake or an accident.

In addition, if the prosecution alleges that the defendant's violation of the court order resulted in physical injury to the protected party, the prosecutor must prove an additional element that states that it was the accused party's violation of that specific order that caused the victim's injury.

In California, a conviction for violating a court order is no joke, as a conviction carries severe penalties. To best avoid these consequences, it is imperative that an accused hires a skilled criminal defense lawyer who knows the most effective ways to refute this crime's elements. In order to secure the best representation from a firm who has successfully defended countless intimate partner abuse cases, contact the experienced attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm for a free consultation.