What is a Maryland protective order?
A final protective order hearing is the last hearing you have after someone has filed a petition for protection. Regardless of whether that person had an interim protective order or a temporary protective order, in order to be granted a final protective order a hearing must be held before a judge.
What happens at a Maryland final protective order hearing?
At the final protective order hearing the district court or circuit court judge will inquire as to whether the respondent or the person who is having the protective order sought against them would like to consent to a protective order. If they consent to the entry of a protective order, the court will enter a protective order without any court determination or findings of facts regarding the allegations presented in the petition for protective order. If the respondent does not consent to the entry of a protective order, then the court will have an evidentiary hearing where both parties will present their evidence and witnesses to cooperate why the court should or should not award a final protective order.
Why Should You Appear For Your Maryland Protective Order Hearing?
If you are seeking a final protective order from the court, it is very important that you show up for your final protective order hearing. You are requesting relief from the court. In order to show that the court should take your request seriously, you should at minimum appear for your hearing and you should present evidence to support your request for relief. If you fail to appear for your final protective order hearing, the court can dismiss your petition and you may have to start all over again from the initial phase of filing a petition.
Why You Should Appear If Someone Is Seeking a Maryland Protective Order Against You?
If the opposing party has filed for a protective order against you, it’s imperative that you appear for your hearing. You will receive notice from an interim protective order or a temporary protective order and either type of temporary order will tell you when your hearing date is. You must appear or that order may be entered against you without any input from you. This can cause serious problems for you if, for example, you have a clearance and the protective order impacts your ability to maintain your clearance. This can cause problems where there are certain terms in that order that don’t make sense like the opposing parties alleging that there’s a vehicle that is only yours that they should have a right to. Your failure to show up means that that person may be awarded the use and possession of that vehicle for the next year.
Contact an Experienced Maryland Family Law Attorney Regarding your Maryland Protective Order Hearing Today.
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