Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois

Good morning.

I live in St. Clair County, IL and would like to know the answer to my situation. On November 20th, 2010 I was sited for criminal trespass at a former girlfriend's home. I received a ticket for the trespass and per the county sherriff if convicted it is a misdemeanor and not a felony. My court date is January 5th, 2011. However, on December 10th I was served papers by my exgirlfriend for an emergency order of protection. It has been effective since December 20th, 2010.

Here is the issue. The order of protection tells me that I am not to be within 500' of her at her place of residence, work or anywhere. Now, if she was to show up at the court date for trespassing on January 5th, 2011, the court has now put me in contempt. If this is true, will I be sent to jail or will both the emergency order of protection and tresspass ticket be dismissed since the court did not perform due diligence? It would be like a wash, correct? Since the court did not perform their necessary reserach and it was their fault. If this is true can another order or protection be taken out against me or does it have to wait for the full two years or another lenght of time?

I look forward to your response. Please site Illinois criminal code or statute since I am representing myself.

Thank you.


Asked on 12/29/10, 9:26 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Sal Sheikh www.BetterCallSal.com

You need to contact an attorney.

you will not get a detailed answer of this nature online...

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Answered on 1/03/11, 12:17 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Ordinarily a restraining order would not apply during a court hearing, especially if both parties to the order have to be present. Showing up would not put you in contempt nor would it be a violation of the order. The court that issued the restraining order was not required to perform any sort of "due dilligence" before issuing it, and your pending criminal case did not immunize you from the restraining order. A system which worked that way would not serve the interests of justice.

And no, the restraining order and the trespass charge won't somehow magically cancel each other out and go away. You will have to deal with both cases.

You should consult with an attorney right away and review the specifics of both the trespass case and the restraining order. A local attorney, with better information, may have different advice for you. Since you will want a defense in both of these cases, you need counsel ASAP.

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Answered on 1/03/11, 3:29 pm


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