Violating a Maryland Protective Order

Protective orders are often put in place for the well-being of both the accused and the accusers in domestic violence cases. Domestic violence cases can be emotionally fraught for all parties involved, and separating the accuser and accused can provide much-needed space, and help everyone avoid confrontation or any situations which might impact the case. However, protective orders are only useful if both parties abide by them. The consequences for violating a Maryland protective order can be dire, especially if the defendant is the one disregarding the protective order. If you have violated a protective order, please seek the legal counsel of an experienced domestic violence attorney.

The Importance of Abiding by Protective Orders

A person has to understand what rights they are giving up and what kind of unlawful contact violates the terms of the agreement. If a person is ordered by a judge to attend an anger management course and to only contact that person through emails, if they have a child in common and do not have any contact other than by text message, then the accused must follow these orders. There are hundreds of scenarios in which a protective order, and even a peace order, can entail not going on the alleged victim’s property or not having any unlawful contact with them.

It is also difficult to keep people away from each other especially when they work in the same place. In some instances, it can be difficult for judges to order that people avoid each other if they work together because the request may not be feasible. However, there should be no unlawful contact. That is not unreasonable because the individuals will know what is lawful and what is unlawful, what they should and should not do. If an individual wittingly contacts the person who requested the order and is caught violating a Maryland protective order, then they will go to jail.

Evidence to Prove an Individual Has Not Violated an Order

One way to prove that someone did not violate an order is to show that on a certain date and time, that person was in a different location. In some cases, a client is at work, and they can log into their computer at their desk and show a time clock that proves they were somewhere else. The individual who makes the accusation of a violation has to be specific, stating a date, time, location, what happened, and if that does not match up and a person can show that the information was incorrect, then they can certainly win. The burden is always on the state or the individual that is making the accusation to show that it is true and that comes through a testimony.

Repercussions of Violating a Protective Order

The court can put a person in jail and give them a criminal record and that sticks with them permanently. If an individual commits a crime while violating the order, the consequence would be more jail time. Not only would the person be subject to a violation penalty but also a criminal act. If it is assault in the second degree, the defendant can receive up to a maximum of 10 years in prison.

The actual violation itself is troubling for the judges because a person has already been told not to have contact with that person and yet they have contacted them. It is not as important that the act took place but that a person was already warned by a judge that there should be no unlawful contact. Furthermore, they gave the person list in their courtroom and made the defendant aware that they should not do certain things, and knowing all of this, they still violated the order. Violating a Maryland protective order is enough grounds for conviction.

An individual can be too presumptuous; sometimes people file protective orders erroneously because they have a vendetta with someone, but there is no fact to corroborate their story. If they can,  and if a person loses at trial and they plea out, even if they have no record whatsoever, and they are warned that they should not have contacted the other person in a peace order and they could not listen, a person is eligible for probation before a judge being a first time offender. They should end up jail because they are already on notice not to have contact.

How an Attorney Can Help

There are certain rights that someone gives up when they agree to a protective order. If the defendant does not understand anything, they might make uninformed decisions and if they do not have a lawyer, they put themselves in harm’s way. By violating a Maryland protective order, the accused risks jail time and other repercussions, which is a definite motivation to seek legal counsel. If you want to make informed decision and