Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Service of Restraining Order

1. For your safety, get it served. You cannot PERSONALLY serve it. If you know where the other person works or lives, have a friend get it done.

2. The order, although valid, is NOT enforcable without PERSONAL SERVICE upon the other person.

Be careful.

Regards,

Mark Geyer

Re: Service of Restraining Order

You should call the Sheriff's Department that is handling the service of your restraining order, because each department has a different policy on that issue.

The restraining will still be valid, but the police won't make an arrest if he/she violates the order. The defendant must have knowledge of the order in order for the police to make an arrest.

In someone violates a restraining order, most police departments will first call to verify the existence of the order. If it has not been served, they will inform the defendant of the terms of the order and most courts will consider that valid for the purposes of future enforcement actions.

You don't have to wait for the Sheriff's Dept. to serve the order. It can be served by anybody over the age of 18 besides you and you can hire a private process server. Whoever serves it must fill out and sign a proof of service, file the original with the court and provide a copy to the Sheriff's Department.

Re: Service of Restraining Order

You should carry two copies of the restraining order with you at all times. If this person appears you can have the defendant served. Generally the police officer that responds to a call in a case like this would serve the restraining order on the defendant for you.