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Modifying New York City Restraining Orders

Restraining orders exist in order to protect those who are being harassed, stalked, threatened, or have already been subjected to a violent attack. Restraining orders not only protect the accuser, they can protect the accused as well.

That being said, there are instances in which modifying New York City restraining orders might be necessary. For example, if an individual were to show that they are no longer a threat to their accuser, they might have their order vacated. The modification of orders is up to the judge, but the prosecution may sometimes play a role as well. That is why it is important to work with a distinguished and determined restraining order lawyer that has existing relationships with both the judge and the prosecution and could defend an individual’s rights.

How Can the Extension of an Order Affect a Person’s Criminal Case

Generally, it is very rare that a criminal case will have an order of protection generated in the beginning and then have that order be dropped during dependency of the case. Most of the time if there is an order of protection generated while the case is pending, that order of protection will continue to be extended until the case is disposed of.

Process of Modifying an Order

Changing New York City restraining orders is done at the discretion of the judge but on advisement and consent of both the prosecutor and the defense attorney. The prosecutor gets a little bit more deference in terms of what is going to happen because there are witnesses that are generally protected by the orders of protection.

A judge has the authority to vacate, modify, or extend an order of protection as they see fit. Generally, the only times that those are vacated is when charges are dropped. The only time that they are changed is when both the prosecutor and defense attorney make a joint application to a judge to amend it.

Vacating Orders of Protection

If the charge is dismissed, the order of protection is vacated and it is immediately null and void. If there is some sort of plea or trial verdict, it will be extended throughout whatever the appropriate time period is. Generally, if the court feels that the defendant has taken an action that is in some way injurious to another party, they are going to continue to order that party to be protected.

Vacating restraining orders is up to the judge, and the judge has discretion, to vacate certain orders or protection. One situation where changing New York City restraining orders could occur is a case starts out with multiple complainants where multiple orders of protection are generated.

During dependency of the case, it turns out that the defendant only took action against one of the several complainants that relate to the others would be dropped. Any orders of protection as they relate to the others will be dropped. The extension would happen for the one that stayed and the others would be vacated. Temporary orders of protection are extended throughout dependency of a case any time that the case is on in court. Generally, the order gets extended by the judge perpetuity until the case is over.

Circumstances Under Which an Ex Parte Order Could Be Extended In New York City

An ex parte order can be extended. For example, if the case is on January 15th, the defendant is supposed to come back January 22nd. The judge issues an order on January 22nd, which is an order until the defendant comes back to court. If the defendant has some sort of legitimate reason why they were not in court on 22nd, for instance, they got into a car accident on their way to court, they were unconscious, and it was not their fault, they can come back to court on the 24th.

The first day that they are discharged from the hospital, being a responsible person, they could go back to court, explain why they were not present, and provide documentation/verification of their reason. In that instance, the judge could terminate the last order and reissue a new order because the defendant is in court. At that point, it stops being an ex parte order because the defendant is in court. Ex parte orders are generally not extended because if it is ex parte, it usually has no end date. An ex parte order can become a regular order once the defendant comes back to court.

If an individual wants to know more about modifying New York City restraining orders, they should consult a knowledgeable attorney who can answer their questions.

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