Legal Question in Family Law in California
I have been served notice of a restraining order hearing filed by my ex-girlfriend. There has never been even the slightest threat towards her yet the notice refers to the case type as domestic violence.
She threatened me with filing a retraining order if I tried to contact her and I texted her a number of times over a 6 month period asking her to talk with me. She never replied and her first response was a voicemail notifying me of the hearing. She then delivered the to me in person at my house.
Question: should I pay for legal advice or will I have a fair opportunity to explain my actions to a judge? This is unnecessary and excessive. I have stopped all attempts to contact her and yet I can't even communicate that to her.
Can I attend another restraining order hearing to see what it entails? Are they open to the public?
Why would this be a domestic violence case and not a harassment issue?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Generally, there are two different procedures to obtain a restraining, order: The Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA) (Fam. Code, sect. 6200 et seq.) and the Civil Harassment statute (Code of Civ. Proc., sect. 527.6)
She has filed under the DVPA, because you are former boyfriend and girlfriend, so she has filed under the correct statutes.
She filed a petition against you because you are stalking her. You admit it in your post when you state that you text her over and over and she refuses to speak with you. Even after having been served papers, you insist on contacting her. YOU NEED TO GET IT IN YOUR THICK HEAD THAT YOU ARE STALKING HER AND FRIGHTENING HER. She broke up with you, and you need to leave her alone and move on with your life.
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