 |
Frequently
Asked Questions
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Florida
Statute 741.30 - Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence means any assault, aggravated assault, battery,
aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated
stalking, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or
death of one family or household member by another who is or was
residing in the same single dwelling unit.
Your relationship with the person whom the injunction is being filed against
must be that of a spouse, an ex-spouse, a relative by blood or marriage,
who lives or has lived with you in the same dwelling as a family
unit, anyone who lives or has lived with you in the same dwelling as a
family unit, or anyone with whom you have had a child, with or without
having lived together.
Domestic Violence must have occurred between you and this person or you
must have reasonable cause to believe that domestic violence is about
to occur between you and this person in order to be eligible to obtain
an injunction under this statute.
An assault does not have to be physical violence. An assault can occur
if someone intentionally threatens to cause you physical violence, even
if they do not touch you. This threat must be by word or act and
the person threatening you must have done something to make you believe
that this violence is about to happen. If the person uses a
deadly weapon when committing this act, it is an aggravated assault.
An act of Domestic Violence becomes a battery when someone intentionally touches
you without your permission. If that person's touching you causes you great
bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement, or if the person
uses a deadly weapon, or if you were pregnant and the person knew
or should have known, the act becomes an aggravated battery.
If someone purposefully follows or harasses you repeatedly over a period
of time for no legitimate purpose, which causes you a great amount of
emotional stress, they have committed the act of stalking. If in
doing this they threaten your life or threaten to cause injury to you,
with the intent to cause you to reasonably fear for your safety,
then the act becomes Aggravated Stalking.
Florida
Statute 784.046 - Repeat Violence
Anyone can be eligible to obtain an injunction under this statute
if one (1) incident of stalking has occurred or if two (2) incidents
of an assault, battery, or sexual battery have occurred, but one
(1) of the incidents must have occurred within the last six
(6) months.
Domestic
/ Repeat Violence Injunction Process
After filling out the paperwork which has been given to you, you will
be assisted in completing a petition for an injunction.
If
your Petition for an Injunction for Protection is Granted
If a judge decides you meet the statutory requirements for the injunction,
the judge will issue a Temporary Injunction, valid for fifteen (15)
days, before you leave today. A hearing will be set within fifteen
(15) days, and at that hearing, the judge will decide whether to
grant a Permanent Injunction. If a Permanent Injunction is granted,
it will be good indefinitely or until dissolved by the Court. A
sheriff will try to serve the respondent with a copy of the pertinent
court documents.
If
your Petition for an Injunction for Protection is Denied
If the judge
decides you do not meet the statutory requirements for the Temporary Injunction,
you may still request a hearing where you and the respondent will appear
before the judge. If the judge denies the Temporary Injunction because
it does not appear that there is an immediate and present danger
of domestic violence, a full hearing on the Petition for the Temporary
Injunction will automatically be set on the soonest court date available.
A sheriff will try to serve the respondent with a copy of the pertinent
court document. However, you will not have the protection of an injunction
during the time prior to the hearing.
