Avoiding Communication Pitfalls with Protective Orders
So if someone filed a protective order against you and you’re not sure what to do as far as whether you can communicate with them, and if so, how. My name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa protective order attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family and criminal law for almost eight years now, and I want to help you make law easy by talking just a little bit about what to do and how to handle yourself if you’re facing a protective order.
So I specifically want to talk about reaching out via text message because here’s the deal. A protective order can be violated very easily. Any sort of direct communication between you and the person who filed for a protective order against you can and will be considered a violation.
The Risks of Violating a Protective Order
Now this is bad for a couple of reasons. One, if maybe you just got served with an emergency protective order and the case is just now getting started, violating that EPO is really going to make a very strong case for a final order being entered against you for at least five years. You don’t want that. I don’t want that as an attorney. No one wants to have to deal with that.
So what do you do? The simplest answer is to just not talk to them. You don’t want to mess with getting a protective order violation. You don’t want to mess with strengthening their case. You dang sure don’t want to mess with picking up a misdemeanor charge for PEO violation because that’s also on the table. There’s a crime for violating a protective order.
Effective Strategies to Avoid Violations
It starts as a misdemeanor, and it ratchets up to felony stalking. You don’t want to open that can of worms. It doesn’t help anyone. So the easiest and simplest solution is not to do it. And don’t even do it indirectly. So don’t send a text. Don’t send an email. Don’t send a Facebook message. Don’t hit them up on Snapchat or Instagram or whatever else the kids are using these days. Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it.
And don’t have your friends do it either. What I mean is, let’s say you have a protective order against you, and your buddy Billy wants to try to advocate for you hard. So he starts lighting up the person who filed the protective order against you. If he’s doing it on his own, that’s one thing. That’s between him, the petitioner, and God, quite frankly.
Avoiding Indirect Violence Through Third Parties
But if he’s doing it on your behalf, or if it can be shown that he’s doing it on your behalf, that still constitutes a violation of the order because you are directly or indirectly communicating with the other person. You can’t do it. Don’t send a text. Don’t send an email. Don’t send your buddy a message. Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it. It’s only going to create more problems for you.
Schedule a Strategy Session: Your First Step Towards Resolution
If you have questions about this, definitely give me a call. My name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa criminal defense attorney with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help you make law easy. Call me at 918-879-1681 to schedule a low-cost initial strategy session. During our consultation, we can explore your options and find the best way forward. Thank you.
