Understanding the Impact of a Missed Protective Order Appearance
I failed to appear for a protective order that was granted against me a year ago and now it’s causing problems with my job. Is there anything that I can do now? That’s the question that we’ve received. I’m Oklahoma Lawyer James Wirth. That’s what we’re going to see if we can answer for you.
So generally when there is a civil order that is entered, that is a final order that closes out a case and you don’t like it and it was because it was in default and you want to get it vacated, you absolutely want to file to vacate that within 30 days. There is a statute, Title 12, Section 1030, 1031, somewhere in that area that says that the court has plenaryed complete authority over their orders for 30 days. After that 30 days, they lose jurisdiction.
Options for Vacating the Order
So in that 30 days, the court can vacate that order for no reason at all if the court wants to do so. Outside of that, more has to be proven and you have to file a petition with a filing fee instead of just a motion that is not as complicated. But protective orders are a little bit different. So if this were a regular civil order, more than 30 days had passed, you’re going to want to be able to show good reason and establish criteria rather than just convincing the judge that it’s the right thing to do where in this case, we don’t have a decision on the merits.
It was a default order. The court didn’t hear all the facts. So the court may want to vacate it simply because the courts generally want decisions on the merits. But is the court able to? For a general court order, it gets more difficult after 30 days. In this case, we’re at a year. But for the protective order statutes, it is easier. The statutes under Oklahoma for protective orders does allow the court to continue jurisdiction and basically allow that to be vacated for good reason pretty much any time down the line that that is in place.
Seeking Legal Guidance
So in your circumstances, you may have an avenue to file to get the court to vacate that order, but you still have to convince the court it is the right thing to do. So you want to talk about how it is affecting your job, why you didn’t appear last time, put it all in there, set it for a hearing, and you may be able to get that resolved. But you’re going to want to talk to an attorney privately and confidentially to get more advice specific to your circumstances to see what can be done for you.
Schedule a Consultation Today
To get that from an attorney in my office, you can schedule an appointment by going to makelaweasy.com. Don’t wait any longer—take the first step towards resolving your legal situation today.
