A restraining order is a type of court order meant to keep one person from harming another. The restraining order in New Jersey can protect a person from physical abuse, threats, harassment, or stalking. The purpose of a restraining order is to prevent the person against whom it was issued from doing whatever it says in the order that he or she should not do. It may last for a year or more.
A judge will issue a restraining order if he or she decides that the requester has been harmed, or is about to be harmed, by another person. A person may file for a restraining order against a current or ex-spouse/partner; someone with whom the person has shared a child; a family member (this includes people related by blood and marriage); or, an individual who is not related to the person but who lives in the same home as the requester. The court will issue a restraining order only when it believes that there is “reasonable cause to believe” that the requester’s safety is threatened.
When Do You Need a Restraining Order?
A person may apply for a restraining order by filing a complaint at the courthouse. The complaint can be filed in the family part or in the criminal part of the court, depending on how serious or dangerous the situation is. The complaint must state that there is “reasonable cause to believe” that you are in immediate danger of physical harm, harassment, stalking or verbal, and written or online threats.
If you believe that you will be harmed by someone with whom you have shared a child within 15 years before your application for a restraining order, then you should bring along proof of your claim when you file your complaint with the court.
The person against whom the restraining order was issued must stay away from you and your property and must not do anything to violate this court order except under supervised visitation or other conditions that are ordered by the court. If he or she violates this order, then he or she could go to prison.
To ask for a restraining order, you must first file a complaint with the court in the county where the person against whom you are suing lives and where the incident has taken place. In New Jersey, there are two types of courts. The family court is where you must file a case if there is already one person involved in a dispute who was married or lived together with you at some time in their lives.
