Southern California Restraining Order Defense and Criminal Defense Law Firm

Why Southern California Turns to Power Trial Lawyers
Matthew Barhoma has been licensed to practice law in California since 2017 and has spent nearly nine years practicing almost exclusively on the defense side of the courtroom. He is admitted to all California state courts and to the United States District Courts in California, holds a Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Irvine, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Lawyers of Distinction, and Avvo, including the Avvo Clients’ Choice Award. Read his full profile.
National and Los Angeles media turn to Mr. Barhoma when they need a defense lawyer to explain what is happening inside a courtroom. He has been quoted by Fox News on the risk of a defendant taking the stand, by CNN on the collapse of FTX, by Forbes on the federal civil-rights plea in the George Floyd case, and by the Associated Press on the Elizabeth Holmes prosecution. He has appeared as a legal analyst on CNN, Fox News, NBC News, Court TV, KTLA 5, ABC7, and the Law & Crime Trial Network, and the firm’s work has been covered by the Los Angeles Times, People, Newsweek, Business Insider, Rolling Stone, Yahoo News, the Daily Journal, and the Daily Mail.
The firm’s own cases have made news as well. When high profile defendants found themselves facing legal proceedings, they retained Matthew Barhoma to represent them in Los Angeles County criminal courts. When a Compton man who had served 27 years for a robbery he always denied committing walked out of prison, it was because Matthew Barhoma reopened the case, showed the District Attorney’s Office how thin the original evidence was, and won resentencing to time served. ABC7 covered the release. When one of the most closely watched criminal cases in Los Angeles moved into sentencing proceedings, the client retained Mr. Barhoma, and his role was reported by ABC7, NBC News, the Los Angeles Times, and national entertainment press. High-profile clients choose Power Trial Lawyers because the firm handles pressure, publicity, and complex records without losing sight of the only thing that matters: the result.
Those same skills are applied to every restraining order hearing and every criminal case the firm accepts. Our case results include restraining orders denied and dismissed, criminal charges dismissed outright, prosecutors persuaded not to file, and murder convictions vacated under Penal Code section 1172.6. Our client reviews describe what it is like to be represented by a firm that returns calls, prepares, and shows up ready.
Restraining Order Defense in California
A restraining order is a civil court order that prohibits one person, the respondent, from contacting, approaching, harassing, or in some cases possessing firearms because of allegations made by another person, the petitioner. California recognizes five principal types: the Domestic Violence Restraining Order under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, Family Code section 6200 and following; the Civil Harassment Restraining Order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6; the Workplace Violence Restraining Order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8; the Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03; and the Gun Violence Restraining Order under Penal Code section 18100 and following. School violence orders under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.85 and Criminal Protective Orders under Penal Code section 136.2 round out the field. Power Trial Lawyers defends respondents against all of them. See every type of restraining order we defend. We have a dedicated Restraining Order law firm that represents parties in dedicated restraining order matters.
Most restraining order cases begin the same way. The petitioner files a form petition and a declaration. A judge reviews the papers the same day or the next, without hearing from the respondent, and decides whether to issue a Temporary Restraining Order. If a TRO issues, it is effective the moment the respondent is served and lasts until the hearing, which is set roughly 21 days out and can be continued. At the hearing, the judge hears evidence and decides whether to issue a longer order. That order can last up to five years for a DVRO, CHRO, or elder abuse order, up to three years for a WVRO, and one to five years for a GVRO, and DVROs and CHROs can be renewed, in some cases permanently. How restraining orders work in California explains each stage in more detail; what to expect at the TRO hearing and the permanent restraining order hearing cover the two court dates that decide the case.
The consequences of losing are not abstract. A restraining order issued after hearing is entered into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, known as CLETS, and is visible to every peace officer in the state and to many employers, licensing boards, landlords, and the federal firearms background check system. A respondent subject to a DVRO must surrender every firearm and all ammunition, generally within 24 hours of service, and file proof of surrender with the court within 48 hours; possession afterward is a crime under Penal Code section 29825 and federal law. A DVRO triggers a presumption under Family Code section 3044 against awarding custody to the restrained parent. Non-citizens face immigration exposure. Professionals face licensing questions. Many respondents are ordered out of their own homes. The consequences of a restraining order and its employment consequences are covered in depth on their own pages.
Because a TRO is issued on the petitioner’s papers alone, the hearing is the respondent’s first and often only chance to be heard. Power Trial Lawyers treats that hearing as a trial. We obtain the petition, the declaration, and any exhibits immediately; interview the respondent in detail; gather the text messages, call logs, photographs, video, location data, and witness accounts that the petitioner left out; prepare a responsive declaration on the correct Judicial Council form; subpoena records and witnesses where the timeline allows; and prepare the respondent to testify and to sit through cross-examination without giving the petitioner anything to use. How to fight a restraining order, the evidence that wins restraining order hearings, and the best witnesses for a restraining order hearing describe the method.
Domestic Violence Restraining Order Defense
A Domestic Violence Restraining Order, or DVRO, is issued by the family law division of the superior court against a person who has, or had, a close relationship with the petitioner: a spouse or former spouse, a cohabitant or former cohabitant, a person the petitioner is dating or dated, the other parent of the petitioner’s child, or a close relative. “Abuse” under Family Code section 6203 is broader than physical violence. It includes placing a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury, sexual assault, and any conduct that could be enjoined under Family Code section 6320, including harassment, stalking, threats, repeated unwanted contact, and, since 2021, “disturbing the peace of the other party,” which the Legislature defined to include coercive control. The petitioner’s burden is a preponderance of the evidence, the lowest standard in civil law. A DVRO after hearing can last up to five years and can be renewed, and it carries the firearm prohibition, the CLETS entry, and the custody presumption described above.
Power Trial Lawyers is a Domestic Violence Restraining Order defense firm. We defend DVROs in the family law departments of every Southern California county, including the Stanley Mosk Courthouse and the Central Civil West, Van Nuys, Long Beach, Pasadena, Pomona, Torrance, Compton, Whittier, and Chatsworth family law courtrooms in Los Angeles County; the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange; the Riverside Family Law Courthouse and the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta; and the San Bernardino Justice Center and the Rancho Cucamonga and Victorville courthouses.
DVRO petitions frequently arrive in the middle of a breakup, a divorce, or a custody dispute, and the timing is not an accident. A DVRO can remove the respondent from the home, deliver temporary custody to the petitioner, and set the tone for every later family court decision. Our defense begins with the question a judge must answer: did the specific conduct alleged actually happen, and does it meet the statutory definition of abuse? We compare the declaration to the contemporaneous record. Text threads that show the petitioner initiating contact, photographs inconsistent with the injuries described, timelines that do not match, prior court filings that told a different story, and witnesses who were actually in the room routinely change a judge’s view of the case. Where the allegation is coercive control, we hold the petitioner to the statute, which requires a pattern of conduct that unreasonably interferes with free will and liberty, not ordinary conflict in a failing relationship. Coercive control allegations and false DVRO allegations each have a dedicated page.
The firm also handles what comes after the hearing. We defend alleged violations of a DVRO, including the common scenario in which the petitioner initiates contact and then reports it. We litigate custody rights under a DVRO, including rebuttal of the section 3044 presumption. We bring motions to modify or terminate a DVRO under Family Code section 6345 when circumstances change. And we oppose renewal petitions, which require the petitioner to prove a reasonable apprehension of future abuse, not simply that the original order was issued. Temporary DVROs and permanent DVRO defense are addressed on their own pages.
Civil Harassment Restraining Order Defense
A Civil Harassment Restraining Order, or CHRO, is the order used when the parties are not in a domestic relationship: neighbors, former friends, coworkers outside the employment context, landlords and tenants, ex-partners who never lived together, business associates, and strangers. Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6 defines harassment as unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses that person, serves no legitimate purpose, would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress, and actually caused the petitioner substantial emotional distress. Constitutionally protected activity is expressly excluded. Critically, a CHRO after hearing requires clear and convincing evidence, a materially higher standard than the DVRO standard, and one that respondents’ counsel should hold the petitioner to at every turn. A CHRO can last up to five years and is renewable.
Power Trial Lawyers defends Civil Harassment Restraining Orders throughout Southern California, including at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, where the majority of Los Angeles County CHRO petitions are heard, and the Long Beach, Whittier, Santa Monica, Van Nuys, Torrance, Inglewood, Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, Compton, Norwalk, Pomona, West Covina, Alhambra, Chatsworth, and Lancaster courthouses. In Orange County, we appear at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, where Orange County civil harassment petitions are consolidated. We also defend CHROs in Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County.
CHRO cases succeed or fail on the statutory elements. A single incident is not a “course of conduct.” Speech that is rude, unwelcome, or embarrassing is not harassment if it is constitutionally protected. Contact that has a legitimate purpose, such as collecting a debt, coordinating a shared driveway, or responding to the petitioner’s own messages, does not qualify. Petitioners often describe distress in general terms without the specific, substantial emotional distress the statute demands. Our defense identifies which element the petitioner cannot prove by clear and convincing evidence and builds the hearing around it. The firm has particular depth in neighbor restraining order disputes, stalking-based restraining order allegations, and restraining orders based on social media, where petitioners frequently ask a court to restrain public commentary that the First Amendment protects. Our Los Angeles civil harassment restraining order lawyer and Orange County civil harassment restraining order lawyer pages address local practice.
A CHRO also carries a fee-shifting provision: the prevailing party may recover attorney’s fees. That cuts both ways. A respondent who defeats a meritless petition can ask the court to order the petitioner to pay, and the firm requests fees whenever the record supports it.
Workplace Violence Restraining Order Defense
A Workplace Violence Restraining Order, or WVRO, is filed by an employer under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8 on behalf of an employee who has allegedly suffered unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence that can reasonably be construed to be carried out at the workplace. The respondent is often a current or former employee, a customer, a contractor, or a member of the public. The standard at hearing is clear and convincing evidence, and an order can last up to three years. Because the petitioner is a company with counsel and resources, and because the order frequently accompanies or follows a termination, a WVRO can end a career and follow the respondent through every future background check.
Power Trial Lawyers defends Workplace Violence Restraining Orders for respondents across Southern California, including allegations of violence between coworkers. Section 527.8 does not authorize an order based on speech that is not a credible threat, on conduct that is part of a labor dispute, or on a workplace disagreement that never involved violence or a threat of violence. Employers frequently file WVRO petitions to retroactively justify a termination or to head off a wrongful termination or discrimination claim. We scrutinize the internal investigation, obtain the HR file and any surveillance, identify the employer’s motive, and hold the employer to the clear and convincing standard. We also coordinate with employment counsel where a WVRO is being used as leverage.
Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order Defense
An Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order, or EARO, is issued under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03 to protect a person 65 or older, or a dependent adult between 18 and 64, from physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, abduction, or treatment resulting in physical harm, pain, or mental suffering. The petition is often filed not by the elder but by a relative, a conservator, a trustee, or Adult Protective Services, and the respondent is frequently an adult child, a caregiver, a sibling, or a spouse. The standard is a preponderance of the evidence, an order can last up to five years, and the financial abuse provisions allow a court to restrain a respondent from contact and from the elder’s property and accounts.
Power Trial Lawyers defends elder abuse restraining orders throughout Southern California, including Los Angeles elder abuse restraining order matters. These cases sit at the intersection of family conflict, estate disputes, and caregiving, and they are frequently filed by one sibling against another in a fight over a parent’s care or money. We examine capacity, the elder’s own stated wishes, the legitimacy of transactions the petition calls “financial abuse,” the medical record, and the petitioner’s financial interest in the outcome. An EARO can strip a respondent of a relationship with a parent and of a role in a trust or estate, and the firm defends it accordingly.
Gun Violence Restraining Order Defense
A Gun Violence Restraining Order, or GVRO, is California’s “red flag” order under Penal Code section 18100 and following. It does not require any relationship between the parties and does not restrain contact. It prohibits the respondent from owning, possessing, purchasing, or receiving firearms and ammunition and orders immediate surrender. A GVRO can be sought by a law enforcement officer, an immediate family member, an employer, a coworker, or a teacher or school employee, and a court may issue a temporary emergency GVRO or an ex parte GVRO before the respondent is ever heard. An order after hearing requires clear and convincing evidence that the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to self or others by having a firearm and that less restrictive alternatives are inadequate, and it lasts one to five years, renewable.
Power Trial Lawyers defends Gun Violence Restraining Orders, including emergency GVROs obtained by police, GVRO petitions filed by family members, and GVRO petitions filed by employers. These petitions are often built on a single alarming statement taken out of context, a mental health contact that resolved, or a family member’s fear rather than any act. The statute lists the factors a court must weigh, and we build the hearing around them, with mental health and firearms professionals where appropriate. A GVRO also matters beyond the order itself: a respondent who possesses a firearm in violation of a GVRO commits a crime and faces a further five-year prohibition, and a GVRO finding can surface in later DVRO or criminal proceedings.
Criminal Protective Orders and Restraining Orders Arising From Criminal Cases
When a domestic violence, stalking, or criminal threats charge is filed, the criminal court issues a Criminal Protective Order under Penal Code section 136.2 at arraignment, typically a full no-contact order that overrides any conflicting family court order while the criminal case is pending. Power Trial Lawyers defends Criminal Protective Orders, moves to modify them to peaceful-contact orders where the parties share children or a home, and manages the interaction between the CPO, a pending DVRO, and the criminal case itself. We also defend repeat violence restraining orders and school violence restraining orders under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.85.
Improper Service, Procedural Defenses, and Continuances
A restraining order case can be won before the facts are ever reached. A TRO is not enforceable, and a hearing cannot go forward, unless the respondent was properly and personally served within the time the court ordered. Petitioners who serve by mail, leave papers with a roommate, or rely on a text message have not served the respondent. A respondent is entitled to one continuance as of right to prepare, and the court must reissue the TRO on the same terms if it grants one. A petition that pleads conduct outside the statute can be challenged on its face. Power Trial Lawyers reviews every case for these issues first. Improper service of a restraining order and what to do when you are served with a restraining order in California explain the first 72 hours.
False Violation Claims
Once a restraining order is in place, the petitioner controls the narrative of compliance. An accidental encounter at a grocery store, a message routed through a mutual friend, a social media post, or a call the petitioner placed and the respondent answered can be reported as a violation, and a violation is a crime under Penal Code section 273.6 that can be charged even when the underlying order was improvidently granted. Power Trial Lawyers defends false and exaggerated restraining order violation claims in both the criminal court and the civil court, where a claimed violation is often used to support renewal or an expanded order.
Restraining Order Appeals and Writs
A restraining order issued after hearing is an appealable order. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 904.1, subdivision (a)(6), an order granting an injunction may be appealed, and California courts have consistently held that DVROs, CHROs, WVROs, and elder abuse orders issued after a noticed hearing fall within that provision. A notice of appeal must generally be filed within 60 days of service of the notice of entry of the order, a deadline that cannot be extended. The Court of Appeal reviews the issuance of a restraining order for abuse of discretion and reviews the underlying findings for substantial evidence, and it reviews legal questions, such as whether the conduct alleged falls within the statute or whether the court applied the correct burden of proof, de novo. Orders issued without proper notice, orders that restrain constitutionally protected speech, orders based on a misreading of the statutory definitions, orders that exceed the relief requested, and orders issued after the respondent was denied a fair opportunity to present evidence are recurring grounds for reversal.
A Temporary Restraining Order is generally not appealable, but errors at the TRO stage, such as a court’s refusal to grant a continuance, an order issued without jurisdiction, or a denial of a request to reissue, can be challenged by petition for writ of mandate. Renewal orders and orders denying a motion to terminate are themselves appealable.
Power Trial Lawyers is one of the few Southern California firms that both litigates restraining order hearings and appeals restraining orders in the Court of Appeal. That matters at the hearing, because we build the record with an appeal in mind: we make the objections, offer the evidence, request the findings, and preserve the issues that an appellate court will need to see. And it matters afterward, because a respondent who lost a hearing with other counsel can retain the firm to evaluate whether the order should be reversed.
Where We Defend Restraining Orders
The firm appears in restraining order departments across Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County. Each courthouse runs its restraining order calendar differently, from the volume-driven civil harassment departments at Stanley Mosk to the family law departments at Lamoreaux, and knowing how a particular department handles continuances, evidence, and testimony is part of the defense. Our Los Angeles restraining order defense, Orange County restraining order defense, and Long Beach restraining order defense pages address the courthouses we appear in most.
Criminal Defense in Southern California
Power Trial Lawyers is a criminal defense firm that represents people under investigation for, charged with, or convicted of misdemeanors and felonies in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County. The firm’s criminal practice shares a foundation with its restraining order practice: the same allegations that produce a DVRO petition produce a domestic violence charge; a restraining order creates a firearm prohibition that becomes a felony gun case; a claimed restraining order violation becomes a Penal Code section 273.6 prosecution. Defending both sides of that overlap with one strategy, rather than two lawyers who never talk, is the firm’s defining advantage.
The Criminal Process, From Investigation to Sentencing
The most valuable window in a criminal case is often the one before charges are filed. A detective’s call, a request to “come in and give your side,” or a search warrant means a case is being built. Power Trial Lawyers intervenes at the pre-filing stage to communicate with investigators on the client’s behalf, present exculpatory evidence and context to the filing deputy, negotiate a voluntary surrender in place of an arrest, and, in a meaningful share of cases, persuade the prosecutor not to file at all. Warrants and pre-filing intervention and what to do when you are arrested explain what to do in the first hours.
Once a case is filed, the firm handles every stage: arraignment and bail, discovery and investigation, motions to suppress evidence obtained through unlawful searches and seizures, the preliminary hearing in felony cases, plea negotiations, jury trial, and sentencing and mitigation. Our overview of the criminal process in California and our explanation of felonies, misdemeanors, and wobblers walk through what to expect.
Domestic Violence Charges
Domestic violence is the criminal charge most closely tied to the firm’s restraining order practice, and it is the one in which coordinated defense matters most. A 911 call leads to an arrest, an Emergency Protective Order, a filing decision within days, a Criminal Protective Order at arraignment, and, often, a DVRO petition in family court that recites the same allegations. Power Trial Lawyers defends domestic violence charges including corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant under Penal Code section 273.5, domestic battery under Penal Code section 243(e)(1), criminal threats under Penal Code section 422, stalking, false imprisonment, and violation of a protective order. We handle these cases in Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, and San Bernardino.
Prosecutors in California do not dismiss a domestic violence case because the complaining witness recants, and they routinely proceed on the 911 recording, body-worn camera footage, and photographs alone. The defense therefore turns on the evidence: injuries inconsistent with the account, a complaining witness whose statements have changed, an argument that was mutual, contact that was defensive, and intoxication or motive that colors the original report. The defenses used in domestic violence cases, the domestic violence arrest and investigation process, and domestic violence sentencing and penalties cover the details. Because a conviction carries a firearm prohibition, a mandatory 52-week batterer’s program, immigration consequences, and a record that follows every custody dispute, the firm’s goal in every domestic violence case is a dismissal, a non-filing, or a resolution that avoids a domestic violence conviction altogether.
Firearm and Weapons Charges
California prosecutes firearm offenses aggressively, and a large share of them arise from a restraining order. A person subject to a DVRO, CHRO, or GVRO who is found with a firearm faces charges under Penal Code section 29825; a person with a prior felony or qualifying misdemeanor faces Penal Code section 29800 or 29805. Power Trial Lawyers defends firearm and weapons charges including carrying a concealed firearm under Penal Code section 25400, carrying a loaded firearm under Penal Code section 25850, assault weapon possession under Penal Code section 30605, brandishing, negligent discharge, ammunition offenses, and firearm sentencing enhancements under Penal Code sections 12022.5 and 12022.53. Most firearm cases rise or fall on the legality of the stop and search, and the firm litigates suppression motions in every case where the Fourth Amendment record supports one. Where the charge is possession in violation of a restraining order, we examine whether the order was validly served, whether the relinquishment deadline had run, and whether the firearm was actually within the client’s dominion and control.
Violent Crimes
Power Trial Lawyers defends violent crime charges including assault, battery, assault with a deadly weapon under Penal Code section 245, battery with serious bodily injury, robbery, carjacking, attempted murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, murder, and cases carrying gang enhancements and strike allegations under the Three Strikes law. Many violent crime cases are self-defense cases, and California law does not require a person to retreat before using reasonable force. The prosecution must disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, and the firm builds that defense from the first interview forward with witnesses, video, injury patterns, and, where warranted, expert testimony.
DUI and Driving Offenses
The firm’s DUI defense practice covers alcohol and drug DUI under Vehicle Code section 23152, felony and injury DUI under section 23153, chemical test refusals, hit and run, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license, and vehicular manslaughter. A DUI arrest also starts a 10-day clock to request a DMV administrative hearing, which the firm handles alongside the criminal case. We defend DUI charges in the Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County courts.
Drug, Theft, Fraud, Sex Crime, and Other Charges
Power Trial Lawyers also defends drug possession, sales, and manufacturing charges, including Health and Safety Code section 11352 sales cases; theft, grand theft, and embezzlement, including burglary; sex crime allegations, where the consequences include lifetime registration; conspiracy; evading police; and public intoxication and open container offenses. The firm has a dedicated practice in criminal defense for licensed professionals, including physicians, for whom a criminal filing is also a licensing matter. After a case ends, we pursue expungement and other record relief. Our California Penal Code guide explains individual statutes in detail.
Where We Defend Criminal Cases
The firm appears in every criminal courthouse in the region, including the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the Airport Courthouse, and the Van Nuys, Long Beach, Compton, Pasadena, Torrance, Norwalk, Pomona, and San Fernando courthouses in Los Angeles County; the Central Justice Center, Harbor Justice Center, North Justice Center, and West Justice Center in Orange County; the Riverside Hall of Justice, Southwest Justice Center, and Larson Justice Center in Riverside County; and the San Bernardino Justice Center and Rancho Cucamonga, Victorville, and Fontana courthouses in San Bernardino County. Our Orange County criminal defense and Long Beach criminal defense pages describe local practice, and our communities served index lists every area.
Criminal Appeals, Writs, and Post-Conviction Relief
Power Trial Lawyers is a California criminal appeals firm that represents defendants after conviction in all six districts of the California Court of Appeal and in the California Supreme Court. A criminal appeal is not a new trial; it is a review of the trial court record for legal error, and it must be started by a notice of appeal filed within 60 days of judgment in a felony case. The firm handles direct appeals from felony convictions, appeals after a guilty plea, bail pending appeal, and motions for new trial, and our page on the California criminal appeals process explains each step from the notice of appeal through oral argument.
Where the direct appeal is unavailable or the error lies outside the record, the firm files petitions for writ of habeas corpus based on ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, new evidence, and factual innocence. The firm has a substantial resentencing practice under California’s reform statutes, including Penal Code section 1172.6 for felony murder and natural and probable consequences convictions, Penal Code section 1172.75 for invalid prison priors, Penal Code section 1172.1 and AB 600 recall and resentencing, Penal Code section 1385 enhancement dismissals, Penal Code section 1473.7 motions to vacate for immigration consequences, and commutation and parole matters, including life without parole cases. Multiple murder convictions have been vacated and multiple clients released on the firm’s petitions; the 27-year Compton wrongful-conviction release covered by ABC7 is one of them.
The firm’s appellate practice extends to restraining orders. As described above, a DVRO, CHRO, WVRO, or elder abuse order issued after hearing is an appealable injunction under Code of Civil Procedure section 904.1, and Power Trial Lawyers briefs and argues those appeals in the same Courts of Appeal in which it argues criminal cases. Few firms in California do both. Appellate experience also shapes how the firm tries cases at the trial level: every restraining order hearing and every criminal trial is conducted with the record in mind, so that a client who loses has something to appeal. Our appellate pages cover Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a restraining order be dismissed before the hearing? Yes. A petitioner may withdraw the petition at any time, and a court may dismiss a petition that fails to allege conduct within the statute or that was not properly served. More often, the case is resolved at the hearing, where the petitioner must prove the allegations by a preponderance of the evidence for a DVRO or elder abuse order and by clear and convincing evidence for a CHRO, WVRO, or GVRO. Power Trial Lawyers negotiates withdrawals and dismissals where the petitioner’s case is weak and prepares for hearing in every case.
Do I have to surrender my firearms if a Temporary Restraining Order is issued against me? If the TRO is a DVRO, CHRO, WVRO, elder abuse order, or GVRO with a firearms provision, yes. You must surrender all firearms and ammunition, generally within 24 hours of service, to law enforcement or a licensed dealer and file proof with the court within 48 hours. Possessing a firearm while a qualifying restraining order is in effect is a crime under Penal Code section 29825 and under federal law. The prohibition ends when the order expires or is dissolved, which is one reason a respondent should fight the order at the hearing rather than let it issue by default.
How long does a restraining order last in California? A TRO lasts until the hearing, typically about three weeks, and is reissued if the hearing is continued. A DVRO, CHRO, or elder abuse order issued after hearing can last up to five years, a WVRO up to three years, and a GVRO one to five years. DVROs and CHROs can be renewed, and a DVRO can be renewed permanently.
Will a restraining order show up on a background check? A restraining order issued after hearing is entered into CLETS and is visible to law enforcement statewide. It is a civil order, not a criminal conviction, so it does not appear on a criminal record, but it is a public court record and it will be disclosed on firearm background checks, and it may be discovered by employers, licensing boards, landlords, and immigration authorities.
Can I appeal a restraining order? Yes. A restraining order issued after hearing is an appealable order under Code of Civil Procedure section 904.1, subdivision (a)(6). The notice of appeal must generally be filed within 60 days of service of notice of entry of the order. Power Trial Lawyers handles restraining order appeals in the California Court of Appeal.
What happens if I violate a restraining order? A violation of a DVRO, CHRO, or other protective order is a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 273.6 and can be charged as a felony if it involves violence or a prior violation. It can also support a contempt finding, a renewal or expansion of the order, and, for non-citizens, removal. Power Trial Lawyers defends alleged violations, including those in which the petitioner initiated the contact.
Do I need a lawyer for a restraining order hearing? A respondent may appear without counsel, but the hearing is an evidentiary proceeding with rules of evidence, burdens of proof, and testimony under cross-examination, and the order that results lasts years and carries firearm, custody, immigration, and employment consequences. Petitioners are frequently represented or assisted by court self-help centers and advocacy organizations. Retaining counsel who tries these hearings regularly changes the outcome.
What is the difference between a restraining order and a Criminal Protective Order? A restraining order is a civil order sought by a private petitioner in family or civil court. A Criminal Protective Order is issued by the criminal court under Penal Code section 136.2 in a pending criminal case, at the request of the prosecutor. The two frequently coexist, and when they conflict, the more restrictive order controls. Power Trial Lawyers defends both and coordinates the strategy across them.
What should I do if a detective calls me? Do not give a statement. Politely tell the detective that you are represented, or that you will be retaining counsel, and that your attorney will be in contact. Then call a lawyer. Statements given “to clear things up” are the most common source of evidence in cases that would otherwise not be filed.
Can I be prosecuted for domestic violence if the alleged victim does not want to press charges? Yes. In California, the prosecutor, not the complaining witness, decides whether to file and whether to proceed, and cases are routinely tried on the 911 call, body-worn camera footage, photographs, and the responding officers’ testimony even when the complaining witness recants or refuses to appear.
How long do I have to appeal a criminal conviction in California? A notice of appeal must be filed within 60 days of the judgment or order appealed from in a felony case, and within 30 days in a misdemeanor case. The deadline is jurisdictional. If it has passed, a petition for writ of habeas corpus or a statutory resentencing petition may still be available.
More answers are available on our FAQ page, our resources and video library, and our blog.
Contact Power Trial Lawyers
If you have been served with a restraining order, charged with a crime, contacted by an investigator, or convicted and are considering an appeal, call Power Trial Lawyers at (888) 808-2179 or contact us online. The firm is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our Los Angeles office is at 835 Wilshire Boulevard, 5th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90017, and our Orange County office is at 695 Town Center Drive, Suite 1200, Costa Mesa, California 92626. We represent respondents and defendants throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County, and in appeals statewide. Learn more about our firm.