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Restraining order worth fighting?

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cpr3584

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Illinois
My mentally unstable ex girlfriend has filed for an order of protection against me. The hearing is in 7 days in Illinois. I am currently living in Florida. I cannot afford to travel all the way up there and back, plus i have to work. Should I consider hiring an attorney by the hour to represent me at the hearing? Is it worth the cost, because she will probably win and get the order anyway?
I sent a few emails to her a month ago after i was drunk, calling her a bitch, saying i had her contact info and i hated her and blah blah. I never specifically mentioned any violent act, however.
She has a history of mental instability and has changed the locks on our apartment before, leaving me out in the cold, homeless. she has also hit me before.
I am most concerned this will affect my job. I currently work part-time in an excellent career and i'm trying to make full-time. I am worried when i get accepted this order will be flagged.
What are the best options? what are my chances of winning if i hire an attorney? I cant attend the hearing so should i just let it play out?
Thanks
 


S

Silverplum

Senior Member
What on earth is funny about it?

You used the :D icon for the title of your post.

cpr3584 said:
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Illinois
My mentally unstable ex girlfriend has filed for an order of protection against me. The hearing is in 7 days in Illinois. I am currently living in Florida. I cannot afford to travel all the way up there and back, plus i have to work. Should I consider hiring an attorney by the hour to represent me at the hearing? Is it worth the cost, because she will probably win and get the order anyway?
I sent a few emails to her a month ago after i was drunk, calling her a bitch, saying i had her contact info and i hated her and blah blah. I never specifically mentioned any violent act, however.
She has a history of mental instability and has changed the locks on our apartment before, leaving me out in the cold, homeless. she has also hit me before.
I am most concerned this will affect my job. I currently work part-time in an excellent career and i'm trying to make full-time. I am worried when i get accepted this order will be flagged.
What are the best options? what are my chances of winning if i hire an attorney? I cant attend the hearing so should i just let it play out?
Thanks
Click to expand...
 
A

Artemis_ofthe_Hunt

Senior Member
cpr3584 said:
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Illinois
My mentally unstable ex girlfriend has filed for an order of protection against me. The hearing is in 7 days in Illinois. I am currently living in Florida. I cannot afford to travel all the way up there and back, plus i have to work. Should I consider hiring an attorney by the hour to represent me at the hearing? Is it worth the cost, because she will probably win and get the order anyway?
I sent a few emails to her a month ago after i was drunk, calling her a bitch, saying i had her contact info and i hated her and blah blah. I never specifically mentioned any violent act, however.
She has a history of mental instability and has changed the locks on our apartment before, leaving me out in the cold, homeless. she has also hit me before.
I am most concerned this will affect my job. I currently work part-time in an excellent career and i'm trying to make full-time. I am worried when i get accepted this order will be flagged.
What are the best options? what are my chances of winning if i hire an attorney? I cant attend the hearing so should i just let it play out?Thanks
Click to expand...
Why is it that so many people are under the apparent misguided conclusion that states have no reciprocity laws between each other or that they are sovernties unto themselves? You DO realize that if you're summoned into court and you DON'T attend that sanctions could be placed against you, right?
 
C

cpr3584

Junior Member
what kind of sanctions? warrants? i have to appear myself? i cant have an attorney represent me? i seem to be getting all types of answers on this matter
 
C

cpr3584

Junior Member
In Illinois, Failure to Appear is the legal term for not showing up when you have a criminal court date. If you miss a court date it is very likely a judge will issue a warrant for your arrest. However, if this is your first missed court appointment, there is a good chance that your attorney will be able to ask the judge to lift the warrant without you having to turn yourself in. But it is critical to act quickly, before anything else happens, and before you are picked up on an outstanding warrant. You will lose nearly all your leverage if you are arrested as a “fugitive”, even for a minor mistake.

If you have previously missed a court date and miss another one, there is a possibility that you can remain outside of custody while your case is pending if you can prove that it wasn’t your fault that you missed court. A judge is not as likely to lift the warrant for your arrest if you have a history of missing court.

Your criminal court dates are very important and the only reason why you should ever miss one is because of an extreme emergency. When you miss court you risk being taken into custody until your case gets resolved. If you posted bail you also risk loosing your bail money. It is much easier for both you and your attorney to resolve your case when you are out of jail.

Failing to appear at a trial is considered to be worse than failing to appear at normal court appearance. If you fail to appear at trial your bail will be forfeited and a warrant will be issued for your arrest. If you fail to turn yourself in within 30 days and are eventually picked up on your outstanding warrant, the judge can decide not to allow you to even have the ability to bail yourself out again.

Whatever happened, that caused you to fail to appear for your court date – whether it was a mix-up, a mistake, or just a moment of panic, please act now to fix this problem by calling us for a free consultation. There are many things we can do to try to fix this before it gets out of hand. But our options are seriously limited if you are arrested and put in jail for failure to appear.

(See Illinois Criminal Procedure Laws, article 110)
What is an Outstanding Warrant?

An outstanding warrant, or bench warrant, is usually issued by a judge when you fail to appear for a court appearance. If a warrant is issued you will likely be arrested and taken into custody if you have any encounters with police officers. A judge can also issue a warrant if there is enough evidence to show that someone is about to commit a crime, as part of a criminal investigation by the police.

(See Illinois Criminal Procedure Laws, article 110a)
 
C

cpr3584

Junior Member
so whats the problem? i am considering this a different post because i asked different questions.
how long does a restraining order last? how long does it stay on your record?
 
I

Isis1

Senior Member
cpr3584 said:
so whats the problem? i am considering this a different post because i asked different questions.
how long does a restraining order last? how long does it stay on your record?
Click to expand...
but it's the same topic and relavant information applies.

dude. a restraining order on your record, is NOT the same as a bad credit report. it just doesn't "fall" off. it comes with long lasting complications. it could affect your job. it could affect housing, it could affect a potential relationship. any woman with ANY common sense would run a criminal check on a potential boyfriend. especially one that just picked up and left a state. it could affect owning a gun.
 
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Artemis_ofthe_Hunt

Senior Member
cpr3584 said:
so whats the problem? i am considering this a different post because i asked different questions.
how long does a restraining order last? how long does it stay on your record?
Click to expand...
I don't have a crystal ball, so I couldn't tell you how long a judge would deem the restraining order necessary for.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/96/SB/09600SB0298.html

I've copied and pasted a portion that is particularly interesting.

(c) At the hearing, whether or not the respondent appears,
the court may continue the hearing for up to 30 days or may
proceed to enter a court's stalking protective order. If the
respondent fails to appear after being served as required by subsection
(b) of this Section, the court may issue a warrant of arrest in order to ensure the appearance of the respondent in court.
(d) The court may award reasonable attorney's fees as follows:

(i) to the petitioner, if the petitioner is the
prevailing party; or
(ii) to the respondent, if the respondent is the prevailing party and if the court determines that the petition is frivolous in nature.


As far as knowing how long it stays on your record? This isn't like a bad mark on your credit, it doesn't just disappear after 7 years if you ignore it. :rolleyes:
 
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Artemis_ofthe_Hunt

Senior Member
Isis1 said:
but it's the same topic and relavant information applies.

dude. a restraining order on your record, is NOT the same as a bad credit report. it just doesn't "fall" off. it comes with long lasting complications. it could affect your job. it could affect housing, it could affect a potential relationship. any woman with ANY common sense would run a criminal check on a potential boyfriend. especially one that just picked up and left a state. it could affect owning a gun.
Click to expand...
Gawd Isis I just got done typing basically the same thing... had to laugh, great minds think alike :p
 
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