Dating Violence Injunction in Florida

Dating violence injunctions occupy a unique place in the landscape of protections against domestic violence and related crimes in the state of Florida. There are usually significant differences between the living situations and financial entanglements of those who are dating or in an intimate relationship but who do not live together. That is why there is a specific injunction for this one type of violent act.

If you have suffered dating violence in the state of Florida, you can trust the team at Lopez Law to support you as you seek protection from your aggressor. A dating injunction can help protect you and your family from someone who has harmed you or who has threatened to hurt you. Dating violence injunctions are key to protecting you and those you love from the harmful actions of someone whom you are dating or in an intimate relationship with.

What is a Dating Violence Injunction?

A dating violence injunction is a legal order that is placed on someone by a judge. This legal order forbids someone who is dating or in an intimate relationship with another person from seeing them if they have harmed them or threatened them. Just like domestic violence injunctions, this kind of injunction can also limit other freedoms, such as the right to own and use weapons.

Injunctions like this are the first step in the process of protecting you and your loved ones from someone who means to harm you. Once this kind of injunction is in place, the person who has threatened you or harmed you in the past will be forbidden from interacting with you in specific ways. Those who choose to disregard injunctions of this type will face more severe legal penalties for negative actions taken after the injunction is in place.

These kinds of injunctions are often created without a set end date. This is to ensure that the person who needs protection and their family are not threatened by the same person over and over again. An injunction that is placed in the state of Florida is also valid in all 50 states, which protects victims from moving to a new state only to have the process of abuse begin again.

What Kinds of Actions Are Considered Dating Violence?

In Florida, there are some basic guidelines that are used to help define dating violence for the purpose of asking for an injunction. The action that an aggressor takes can be categorized in a variety of ways. These are the types of violent acts that are taken into consideration when looking at a dating violence injunction:

•         Assault
•         Aggravated assault
•         Battery
•         Aggravated battery
•         Sexual assault
•         Sexual battery
•         Stalking
•         Aggravated stalking
•         Kidnapping
•         False imprisonment
•         Any criminal offense that results in physical injury or death

A dating violence injunction can be brought against an aggressor if you have been engaged in a relationship that is intimate in nature or has been labeled as dating within the last six months. Affection or sexual contact has to have been part of the relationship. If the relationship is more casual than this or if you live with the person who you are in a relationship with, there are other kinds of injunctions that are used for these situations.

Casual relationships or more committed relationships have their own unique injunction types under Florida law. The circumstances related to potential contact in casual relationships are easier to control in casual relationships. In the case of those who are residing together or who share minor children, there are more factors that have to be considered in order to make the injunction enforceable.

A judge will look at all of the details related to your connection with the person who has taken aggressive actions against you. If you happen to work with the person, for example, the judge will take this complication into consideration when creating the dating violence injunction. The team at Lopez Law Group has years of experience in dating violence injunction cases, and you can count on us to present all of the correct facts to the judge at your hearing. The more information that the judge has to work with, the more effective the injunction will be.

Who Can Ask for a Dating Violence Injunction?

There are specific persons who can ask for this kind of injunction:

• A person who has been the victim of past dating violence
• A person who has cause to believe that they are in imminent danger of harm, death, or recurring violence related to a dating or intimate relationship
• A person who has reasonable cause to think that they are at imminent risk of becoming a victim of dating violence
• The parent or legal guardian of a minor child living at home who has been a victim of dating violence

If this kind of petition is filed on behalf of a minor child against another parent, a stepparent, or a legal guardian, Florida law requires that the petitioner have an eyewitness to the acts that took place. This person will also need to be willing to testify against the aggressor in court. If the petition is filed on behalf of a child against another party who is not a parent or a guardian, the petitioner has to have reasonable cause to make the accusation.

It can be much more complex to file a petition for an injunction on behalf of a minor, so you will want to make sure that you secure a skilled lawyer to help you with this process. Your lawyer will make sure that the injunction that is placed is effective and will keep the minor child safe from harm. Having a lawyer will help to make sure that the affected child is not required to spend an undue amount of time in court as well.

Can Someone be Penalized for Violating a Dating Violence Restraining Order?

There are various consequences of refusing to follow a dating violence injunction. The party who has violated the order might be required to attend regular hearings to assess their compliance; there could be monetary consequences, or there might be civil proceedings filed to enforce the order.

Violation of this kind of order is illegal in the state of Florida. Even the first violation is considered a first-degree misdemeanor and carries with it a $1,000 fine as well as the chance to end up in jail. Those with two or more prior convictions for violating this kind of injunction will be charged with a third-degree penalty. This can lead to five years in jail as well as a $5,000 fine.

This is why it is so important to let your expert legal team help you get an injunction against an aggressor. As soon as the injunction is in place, the person who has harmed you or threatened to harm you will be held accountable for their future actions with increased legal penalties. The team at Lopez Law will work hard on your behalf to ensure that you and your family are protected from someone who has caused you harm or threatened you with violence.

What if the Person Shares Custody of a Child With Me?

If you share custody of a child with a person who has been aggressive toward you, you will need to file an injunction for protection against domestic violence. This is a different kind of injunction that is tailored to meet the needs of those who need to figure out things like where each person will live and situations related to custody of the children involved in the relationship.

Your lawyer will know which kind of injunction is the right one to protect you and your loved ones from the aggressive actions of others. No matter what the circumstances of your situation, the team at Lopez Law Group will be able to help you get the legal protections that you need to be safe. Holding the person who has harmed you accountable for their actions is critical to ensure that they are not able to continue to harm you and the ones that you love.

What Can a Lawyer Do for Me?

Involving a lawyer will make sure that the right documents are filed on your behalf to ensure that you are safe from your aggressor. The team at Lopez Law Group has years of experience with these kinds of cases and understands the best ways to protect you from harm. While it can be frightening to have to face someone who has harmed you in court, placing an injunction against them is important so that you can be safe.

A lawyer will ensure that all of the information that you need to include in your request so that your injunction is created correctly. Having the right limitations placed on the person who has harmed you is critical for your injunction to work correctly. At Lopez Law, we take the time to listen to your clients and craft a specific set of requests to make sure that they are safe and secure from further harm.

Schedule a consultation today so we can get to work protecting you from someone who has tried to harm you.

Related:

What is a Restraining Order in Florida

What is an Injunction in Florida?

Sexual Violence Injunction in Florida

Domestic Violence Injunction

Divorce Lawyers in Florida