Served a Protective Order in Indiana? Do This Next

[00:00:00]Don't panic. Here's what to do immediately after being served with a protective order in Indiana.

[00:00:08]The very first thing to do is read the protective order. Don't skim it. Don't just toss it in the trash. Don't just put it away. Something to deal with later. Read that. Figure out where you're not allowed to go. Figure out who you're not allowed to have contact with.

[00:00:20]Figure out if it specifically says they're asking to take away your gun rights. Look at exactly what's going on and look on it. Is it granted? Is it exparte? Saying, "Hey, it's granted. you contact this person after you've been served, but guess what? It's a crime. Is it saying there's a hearing date?

[00:00:33]Protective orders move fast. And so, usually there's a trial date within a couple of weeks, usually about a month the latest. So, is there a trial date?

[00:00:40]Figure out exactly what's going on. Take notes, highlight it. Don't be shy. Don't write on it necessarily, but highlight it. Don't be shy. And you want to know exactly what it's saying you can and cannot do. And then you want to see what they're saying happened. What are these allegations? 1 2 3. What is going on with that? What are they specifically saying? What you don't want to do is reach out to the person that filed it.

[00:00:59]Hey, what's going on with that's terrible, terrible idea. They have already shown that they want to make your life hard. Do not try to reason with that person. Read it. Figure out what's going on. Second step, contact an attorney who does protective order cases. That's so important. Protective orders are quasi criminal. What does that mean? That means they can very easily turn into a criminal case against you where you're facing jail time.

[00:01:21]Protective order violation is called invasion of privacy. It's a misdemeanor.

[00:01:25]But if it happens again, well, guess what? It's a felony. Two and a half years in jail. And they stack. If they can show you violated protective order 10 times, you very well might have 10 counts of evasion of privacy. All of a sudden, you're looking at 10 years in jail. I just sent a text message. This is insane. I just wanted to communicate about a child. Guess what? You're at a significant disadvantage. You do everything possible to find an attorney to help you deal with a protective order. That's paramount. And number three, after being served with a protective order in Indiana, you want to start gathering evidence. Your attorney will help you with that. But look at text messages. Look at the witnesses they're listing. Contact the witnesses.

[00:01:59]You're more likely your attorney will contact them and try to build a defense.

[00:02:02]Take care of any of the allegations listed in the protective order petition.

[00:02:05]Protective orders can easily seem overwhelming because you're just going about your life and all of a sudden you have a protective order in front of you.

[00:02:11]You're trying to deal with this along with your job, your family, whatever other obligations you have. And we know it's very frustrating. Call an attorney to help you navigate this. Do not try to deal with this on your own. Prosecutors regularly request transcripts from protective order hearings in order to base criminal charges because anything you say at protetective order hearing can easily be used against you in a criminal case. Protective order hearings, even though they're civil in nature, you set yourself up for criminal charges later. Don't take that chance.

[00:02:38]If you have any questions about protective rers, give me a call 3176323642.

[00:02:42]We will talk about protective voters all day. It's a passion of us at this law firm. But most importantly, remember to always the fifth