Have a female friend thats leaving her husband . Her story is that he is now harrassing her and showing up at all hours of the night.
She wants to get a restaining order on this guy but she has not [b]YET[/b] been harmed by him. She feels it is only a matter of time before he does.
Basicly what is required to be issued  a restraining order.

Thanks


Cluster

If she does not have a lawyer yet, most court houses (at least the ones here) have an advocate that will help to fill out and file the order, and also stand up with (for moral support at least) her if there is a hearing for cause.

In Texas it's a simple as going to the County Courthouse and filing the paperwork.  You don't necessarily need to he directly harmed by him.  However, think about how many women get hurt or killed while they have someone on a restraining order.  This woman needs a gun and training, as a restraining order is worth jack when your life is on the line.

God Bless Texas

Thank You all for your answers,

she will go Wednsday to get that filled out.
One more question.. she does not know where he lives. she only knows where he works..  the thing is that he never works at the same location two days in a row. after she fills out the papers does the guy have to be served first before she is "protected" by that 8X10 piece of paper or is it instant?
example..
the guy has not yet been served his papers and he goes by again that night to harrase her... what happens?


cluster

Well, in Tx, a restraining order really isn't worth the paper it's written on. A Police officer cannot arrest on a restraining order, because it is a civil document, and thus, a civil problem. Some people, who are unaware, may heed the warning thinking they will be arrested if they violate it and that is great in those cases. What happens is: he violates the restraining order and she files a police report. The police report basically states that he violated the restraing order. She would have to take a copy of that report to the issuing court and the judge MAY issue a warrant for contempt of court.
A protective order, on the other hand, is different. The Tx Penal Code states that a Police Officer SHALL arrest when he has reason to believe the protective order was violated. A protective order is issued by the D.A.'s office and violation of such is a class "A" misdemeanor. However, in order to obtain a protective order, there has to be some history of family violence. Whether it be assaults or threats, there has to be something. They will not issue one otherwise. They do not have to be married in order for it to be considered "family" violence, but there has to be some type of relationship.
I would tell her to call the police every time this loser shows up, and file a report. There are stalking and harassment laws in Tx, and she should take advantage of them. If nothing else, the officers are going to get sick of showing up, and find something else to book him on.

Well, in Tx, a restraining order really isn't worth the paper it's written on. A Police officer cannot arrest on a restraining order, because it is a civil document, and thus, a civil problem. Some people, who are unaware, may heed the warning thinking they will be arrested if they violate it and that is great in those cases. What happens is: he violates the restraining order and she files a police report. The police report basically states that he violated the restraing order. She would have to take a copy of that report to the issuing court and the judge MAY issue a warrant for contempt of court.
A protective order, on the other hand, is different. The Tx Penal Code states that a Police Officer SHALL arrest when he has reason to believe the protective order was violated. A protective order is issued by the D.A.'s office and violation of such is a class "A" misdemeanor. However, in order to obtain a protective order, there has to be some history of family violence. Whether it be assaults or threats, there has to be something. They will not issue one otherwise. They do not have to be married in order for it to be considered "family" violence, but there has to be some type of relationship.
I would tell her to call the police every time this loser shows up, and file a report. There are stalking and harassment laws in Tx, and she should take advantage of them. If nothing else, the officers are going to get sick of showing up, and find something else to book him on.

This is also messed up since women can "claim" you are harrassing them (without any proof) and file a restraining order. (And don't try to tell me that women (or men) don't lie about these things-- I have seen similar/worse things happen.)

Once filed against you, supposedly you lose some of your rights as a gun owner.... is this true? (probably depends on the state, county, or city you are in)

Once someone has a Protective Order against you, you're pretty much screwed as a gun owner. You can't have guns or ammo. Fortunately, the D.A.'s office here is pretty good about requiring more than just somebody saying there was violence. They want copies of new or old police reports, bruises, scratches, something... Not that someone couldn't get around those things. Think about this....An ex-girlfriend of a police officer gets jealous of the new girlfriend, gets pissed, and goes down to the courthouse with a big long story and some self-inflicted scratches and gets a protective order based on lies. Well, there goes a career down the drain. No gun=no cop. Now what ? It happens....it happened to a buddy of mine. The situation was a little different (it was his sister who was pissed over a family break-up). Fortunatley, they saw through her B.S. at the hearing for the prot. order, but it was a close call.

I agree with BWL I don't know any thing about TX I do know in SD a violation for a protection order is an automatic arrest. If the papers have not been served and she has her copy at the time the pd shows up they can serve him the papers at that time, most likely they would not arrest that time but he would have to be served by the PD or the sheriffs Deputy. And if there is a legitamte need for her to feel she needs one I would be all for it.

The restraining orders, violations can be arrestable depending on the situation if it is just a violation it could be a class 1 misdemeanor, if it is compounded with any type stalking offense it becomes a class 6 felony this is only in SD and could be differnt in TX.

A good self defense course/ccw class would be a good idea. If she was acceptable to this line of thinking.

In Michigan for the longest time the women just had to walk to the courthouse.
Free paperwork service, and a good job at high cost to the taxpayer unlike the criminal defense appointments.
The paperwork service would put down some story and the judge would automatically approve. All guns would be taken. The man could contest, and within one year he would be heard (3-6 months if a police officer due to a special policy)
Now they changed the law because PPOs became the standard means of proving fault in a divorce action (I mean like half of them had a PPO). To explain, Michigan is a property fauly state, so if she can make the judge think something bad about the man she gets extra property--like 30-70 instead of 50-50.
Now the judge has to find on the record that some reason exists, and state the reason. That way the man has something to fight against when he gets his day in court in a year.

A couple more notes on Texas:

If the Divorce proceedings have started, she can only get a Protective Order from the District Court handling the divorce. POs during divorces are handled differently.

Harassment is an offense in Texas (Class B misdemeanor). Basically, someone commits an offense if the repeatedly communicate in a manner that would harass, annoy or abuse a reasonable person. If she really wants to do it right she needs to:
-Contact her local PD and file a Harassment Report (she needs to be insistent about getting a report and a case number);
-Sent him a certified letter telling him to stop attempting to communicate with her and that he is only allowed to communicate with her through her lawyer;
-Call Southwestern Bell, with the Case # from her police report, and establish "Call Trace" on her home line;
-Start a phone log and write down each and every time he calls, and the content of what he says.

Once she has done that, she should have established enough to get a PO issued. ROs aren't worth squat in Texas, officers can not arrest for RO violations and they also generally do not effect the right to own weapons. POs have lots of teeth, though and are worth it if a dangerous situation truly exists.

edited to add:

Even though it is "common-law" she still needs to do either divorce or eviction proceedings to get a legal right to be the sole occupant of any property they had joint access to during the relationship. Otherwise, barring a PO or RO, he has every right to show up on the property until some kind of legal proceeding says otherwise. If she is renting, her best bet is to move.