Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: Email harrassment

It's in the eye of the beholder, and the eye of the judge reviewing it. You'd better have some persuasive arguments ready for the hearing, to convince the judge you are not a threat. Alternatively, you could try to work out a 'settlement' with the complaining party before the hearing, but the risk is that your contact would show further harassment, it should be done through counsel. If you decide you need legal help doing so, feel free to contact me if the case is in SoCal.

Re: Email harrassment

A temporary restraining order is not appealable. The reason it is temporary is that there will soon be a hearing at which the court will decide whether to make the order permanent. If you feel you have been unjustly accused, you will be able to make your case at that hearing.

If waiting until that hearing will cause you substantial harm you can try asking the court to modify its order, but you will want a lawyer if possible and that will cost money. If the judge does not agree you can petition the Court of Appeal to intervene, but that will cost even more money and is unlikely to succeed. Besides, these approaches take time and it might be quicker to just make your case at the upcoming hearing.

There is no pre-determined number of emails that can be considered harassment. Whether you are harassing the plaintiff is a subjective question and will be answered in light of all the circumstances. There is no formula you can use to determine how the court will rule.