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Is jail time a likely punishment for violating protection order in WA?

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Hoping4zbest

Junior Member
Hello!
Two weeks ago my boyfriend had an argument with his roommate. Usually they live very quietly, so when their neighbor heard them shouting in the middle of the night, she was concerned and called police. When police arrived, my boyfriend's roommate said he was pushed by my boyfriend. Although the argument was over, there were no injuries, and roommate didn't want to press charges, my boyfriend got arrested and spent the night in jail. Protective order was also issued against my boyfriend. Unfortunately,they both didn't have anywhere else to go, so they continued to live in the same apartment.
Today I found out that my boyfriend got arrested again, and is currently in local jail; he was charged with violation of protection order. No other charges or case details are currently posted.

My boyfriend has previous criminal history -he was charged with felony harassment (when he was 17). He pleaded guilty and spent a month in jail

He is now represented by a court appointed lawyer. His roommate is not pressing any charges, he feels terrible abouth the whole situation and is willing to testify in court.

From your experience, is it possible for my boyfriend to avoid serving time in jail?
 

quincy

Senior Member
Hello!
Two weeks ago my boyfriend had an argument with his roommate. Usually they live very quietly, so when their neighbor heard them shouting in the middle of the night, she was concerned and called police. When police arrived, my boyfriend's roommate said he was pushed by my boyfriend. Although the argument was over, there were no injuries, and roommate didn't want to press charges, my boyfriend got arrested and spent the night in jail. Protective order was also issued against my boyfriend. Unfortunately,they both didn't have anywhere else to go, so they continued to live in the same apartment.
Today I found out that my boyfriend got arrested again, and is currently in local jail; he was charged with violation of protection order. No other charges or case details are currently posted.

My boyfriend has previous criminal history -he was charged with felony harassment (when he was 17). He pleaded guilty and spent a month in jail

He is now represented by a court appointed lawyer. His roommate is not pressing any charges, he feels terrible abouth the whole situation and is willing to testify in court.

From your experience, is it possible for my boyfriend to avoid serving time in jail?
Your boyfriend's best source of information is his court-appointed attorney. All questions should be addressed to him/her.

There is always a possibility for someone to avoid jail time. How great a possibility is a question mark and will depend largely on the prosecutor and the judge.

Here is a link to RCW 26.50.110, Violation of order, Penalties: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?Cite=26.50.110
 

Hoping4zbest

Junior Member
Thank you for your response. I understand all that. Lawyer explained all of the possible consequences but he didn't want to make any guesses as to whether there would be a jail sentence or just paying fines. Which we completely understand.

What I was wondering was how often do people get sentenced to spend jail time in similar situations. More of a statistic answer, I guess.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank you for your response. I understand all that. Lawyer explained all of the possible consequences but he didn't want to make any guesses as to whether there would be a jail sentence or just paying fines. Which we completely understand.

What I was wondering was how often do people get sentenced to spend jail time in similar situations. More of a statistic answer, I guess.
Any violation of a protection order is a criminal offense. A victim can call the police and the violator will be arrested. In most states, a protection order violation is a mandatory arrest. A victim can also file a petition for contempt with the court. Additional charges (like stalking) could come from the violation and arrest. So jail time is a real possibility when a person violates a protection order.

There are too many variables, however, to determine if more jail time is in your boyfriend's future. Statistics will mean very little to you or your boyfriend if the prosecutor and judge decide your boyfriend should spend additional time in jail.

That said, if you are interested in statistics on protection order violations, you can search online for the study by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention ("Extent, Nature and Consequence of Intimate Partner Violence ...") and you can search online for Brian H. Spitzburg's study ("The Tactical Topography of Stalking, Victimization and Management").

And, to start off your research, following is a link to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Although you might want to explore the site more fully, you can click on "State Court Processing of Domestic Violence Cases" written by Smith, Durose, and Lagan, which is found along with other information on the following page: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/scpdvcpr.cfm

Again, your boyfriend needs to rely on his attorney. Whatever you find online will not be as important as the information your boyfriend gets from his attorney. His attorney has personal access to all of the facts of your boyfriend's situation.
 
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