Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: What type of attorney needed for fighting RO

yes, you definitely want to retain an attorney based on the facts you have provided so far, especially if a RO was issued without any substantive proof showing the calls or emails originated from you. you certainly do not want to risk going to jail for any period of time strictly premised upon "false allegations" to begin with. if you would like further assistance in this matter, please email directly today with your contact information for a free case evaluation/consultation.

Re: What type of attorney needed for fighting RO

If you already allowed the restraining order to be issued without proper objection, your remedy now is to try to move for reconsideration and have a full hearing. Yes, if he alleges further trouble, you could be arrested. Therefore, if you are willing to hire counsel to try to deal with this properly, contact me to discuss fees and facts.

Re: What type of attorney needed for fighting RO

If you are currently faced with a TRO and have a hearing coming up to see if it will be made permanent, a civil litigator should be able to do the job for you. The process isn't especially difficult or complicated, so no special expertise is required.

If the permanent injunction was issued recently there may still be time to appeal based upon insufficiency of the evidence. Your ex'es testimony is evidence, but he has to show that he has a factual basis for what he is saying and that he is not just speculating or offering his own conclusions. An appellate lawyer would be the best type of attorney to hire for this type of project. There are appellate lawyers who specialize in civil cases, others who do criminal work and still others who do both; any of these attorneys should be able to handle this type of case.

If the Temporary Restraining Order has been made permanent and you did not present the best evidence you had available in your defense, then you may want to bring a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. This also could be handled by an appellate lawyer, but many criminal lawyers probably could handle it as well (even though it is not a criminal matter unless and until you are charged with a violation).

While I don't normally include a pitch in my LawGuru posts, the fact is that I handle civil litigation and both civil and criminal appeals, so I may be able to help you in any of the three situations I described above. Please feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss further.

Re: What type of attorney needed for fighting RO

Thank you for your posting and your inquiry.

First, let's take a deep breath. I can hear your frustration with all of this in your written posting.

To start with your first question, to get the judgment dissolved, you will have to either appeal the restraining order decision, if that is timely (within 60 days), or bring a motion to terminate the restraining order for good cause, which is more difficult.

To answer your second question, if he keeps getting harassing phone calls or mail, he still has to PROVE that it came from you. Simply indicating that it might have come from you is not enough, unless you don't defend his allegations.

3. The police have to have "probable cause" (a reasonable suspicion supported by evidence that you were connected to the alleged criminal activity), before they can arrest you.

4. You will likely need to obtain a civil subpoena to get the information you seek, and that is typically somewhat expensive, and there are right to privacy issues that you will have to deal with before the court will allow this, but that is typically not a problem if you can justify a reason for the subpoena.

I'm not sure I understand your comment about the number of payphones around you and the blocking, but that is helpful in defending your case IF he is alleging that you called from a payphone and blocked your number (not sure how he would know that, but that's another story).

I hope that this information helps you, but if you have further questions, want more information, or feel that you need legal representation, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. It's my pleasure to assist in any way that I can.