I Was Charged With a Domestic Violence Offense and the Court Has Issued a Restraining Order Against Me. What Can I Do?

The first thing that happens in a domestic violence case is that the judge issues a restraining order prohibiting the defendant from contacting the complaining witness. The restraining order, also known as a “no contact” order, is a court order stating that the defendant cannot contact the complaining witness, in any way, for at least the length of the case. In many situations, the complaining witness does not want a “no contact” order placed between him/her and the defendant. For a variety of reasons, the defendant and the complaining witness may want and need to communicate with each other. The “no contact” order can be changed. We have helped all of our clients who wanted the “no contact” order lifted by bringing the case back into court and asking the judge for a modification. Once the “no contact” order is modified, we focus on defending the criminal case.