Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

There are different types of restraining orders. CLETS restraining orders involve domestic disputes. All other types are non-CLETS orders. They differ in some specifics, but in general they mean the restrained party must avoid contacting or approaching the party that obtained the order. If you are the restrained party, you should read the order to find out what your restrictions are.

I disagree with Mr. Hoffman. I've never heard of a non-CLETS restraining order, except with respect to a stipulation between the parties that they will stay away from each other, without the judge actually issuing an order that is entered into the system through CLETS.

The California Department of Justice maintains several databases, all of which are accessed via a system called CLETS. (CLETS is an acronym standing for California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System.) These databases include the Domestic Violence Restraining Order System (hereinafter referred to as �DVROS�.)

Pursuant to Family Code section 6380, information concerning restraining orders is transmitted through CLETS to the Department of Justice by law enforcement or court personnel.

The Code of Civil Procedure, the Family Code, and the Penal Code all provide a number of remedies for victims of harassment or domestic violence.

Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8 provides a remedy for employers to obtain restraining orders against third parties who are harassing their employees. Penal Code section 136.2 provides authority for courts with jurisdiction over a criminal matter to issue a restraining order to prevent victim or witness intimidation.

All of the various statutory grounds for obtaining a restraining order provide for delivery of the restraining order to law enforcement for entry into the DVROS. Orders issued in criminal proceedings refer to Family Code section 6380 subdivision (i). (Pen. Code, � 136.2 subd. (g).) Civil harassment restraining orders are delivered to law enforcement. (Code of Civ. Proc., � 527.6 subd. (h).) Restraining orders to prohibit workplace harassment and violence are also delivered to law enforcement. (Code of Civ. Proc., � 527.8 subd. (i)(1).)

Family Code section 6380 specifically provides that each county develop and use the CLETS system to transmit information of data regarding restraining orders to the Department of Justice. Information is transmitted either by transmitting a physical copy of the order to a local law enforcement agency having authorization to enter orders into CLETS, or by entering the order into CLETS directly with approval of the Department of Justice. (Fam. Code, � 6380 subd. (a).)

All of the code sections authorizing the differing types of orders referred to in the discussion above are referenced in Family Code section 6380 subdivision (b). The Department of Justice is required to be notified of the contents of the order, and the following information:

(1) The name, race, date of birth, and other personal descriptive information of the respondent as required by a form prescribed by the Department of Justice.

(2) The names of the protected persons.

(3) The date of issuance of the order.

(4) The duration or expiration date of the order.

(5) The terms and conditions of the protective order, including stay-away, no-contact, residency exclusion, custody, and visitation provisions of the order.

(6) The department or division number and the address of the court.

(7) Whether or not the order was served upon the respondent.

(8) The terms and conditions of any restrictions on the ownership or possession of firearms.

(Fam. Code, � 6380 subd. (b).)

In continuation of my lenghty post:

The only other non-CLETS restraining order would be a restraining order that was issued on an ex parte basis, to expire at a hearing on a preliminary injunction. That would be issued in a case that did not involve any of the areas outlined above.

There is a lot of confusion in California, because the term restraining order is also applied to orders issued in harassment cases, which is technically termed "restraining order after hearing" which is in reality an injunction.