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posted on 11/27/16

In a previous post, we examined Emergency Protective Orders, which are designed to stabilize a potentially dangerous situation and prevent even the possibility of abuse. EPOs are nearly always granted ex parte, which means the judge only heard one side of the story.

Typically, the alleged victim asks for a plenary order after the EPO expires. Plenary orders are different from EPOs in both content and duration; they are much the same in terms of their applicability and their definitions of “domestic violence.”

Procedural Aspects

There are both technical and non-technical aspects to plenary orders. These orders can be effective for up to two years.

Before the judge can enter a plenary order, the alleged abuser must have notice of both the procedure and the hearing date. Courts nearly always require personal service via a constable or private process server, although in some cases, they may allow service via mail or some other substitute method.

Some states require alleged victims to prove a predicate act and demonstrate that they are reasonably fearful for either their safety or the safety of loved ones. But under Section 214 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, alleged victims must only show prior abuse “by a family or household member.” The hearsay rules are somewhat relaxed, so if alleged victims have police reports that detail an incident and hospital records that document an injury, proof is nearly conclusive. If there is a police report but no evidence of injury, such a showing is not quite as compelling but normally sufficient for a judge to grant an order. Non-physical violence (i.e. emotional or verbal abuse) is admissible as well, but these claims are harder to prove.

Content

Both EPOs and plenary orders provide keep-away relief that orders alleged abusers to refrain from certain conduct; in some cases, both these orders may also exclude alleged abusers from joint residence, even if the alleged abusers are the record owners.

Because alleged abusers have an opportunity to be heard, plenary orders can grant additional relief, including:

  • Anger management counselling, substance abuse counselling, or other counselling,
  • Reimbursement for medical expenses, lost wages, attorneys’ fees, moving costs, and other incidental expenses,/li>

  • Temporary spousal and/or child support, if the alleged abusers are legally obligated to do so, and/li>

  • No contact between the alleged abusers and their children./li>

In all these situations, the judge must balance the harm to the alleged abuser with the need to protect the alleged victim. So, the stronger the evidence, the more relief the judge is likely to grant.

Defenses

In borderline cases, the court may issue a Stalking No Contact Order instead of a protective order. SNCOs provide essentially all the protection as a plenary order yet are not technically considered domestic violence matters, so they may not be admissible in a subsequent divorce proceeding, and they cannot include affirmative orders, such as reimbursement payments.

Plenary orders are nearly entirely evidence based, so the more witnesses and physical evidence that the alleged abusers have, the better their chances of prevailing at the hearings.

Reach Out to Aggressive Lawyers

Plenary orders should protect the weak without punishing the strong. For a free consultation with an experienced family law attorney in Schaumburg, contact Glasgow & Olsson. After-hours appointments are available.