If you have been served with a petition for an injunction (also known as a restraining order) filed by someone against you in court, you can learn more about what injunctions are, and how the injunction for protection process works.

An Injunction, also called a restraining order, is a court order that directs a person not to have any contact with another person. The person seeking the injunction is called the PETITIONER. The person against whom the injunction is requested is called the RESPONDENT.

Court Ordered Injunctions can:

Restrain the Respondent from specific locations or keep the Respondent from doing specific things; may affect timesharing with his/her children; prevent the Respondent from obtaining or possessing a firearm/ammunition; order the Respondent to attend anger management or Batterer’s Intervention classes; and, depending on the type of injunction, the Respondent may be removed from his/her home.

Florida Statutes set forth five types of injunctions with specific criteria for each type. Injunctions are not one-size-fits all so it is important to understand the statutory guidelines so you can determine which injunction type best suits your situation. Court staff cannot assist you with picking the appropriate type.

Domestic Violence: includes any aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking or any criminal offense resulting in a physical injury or death of one of the family or household members by another who is or was residing in the same home. The parties must be related by blood or marriage or were living together as a family.

Dating Violence: violence between individuals who have or have had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The existence of such a relationship will be based on these factors:

  1. A dating relationship must have existed within the past six months;
  2. The nature of the relationship must have been characterized by the expectation of affection or sexual involvement between the parties; and
  3. The frequency and type of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship must have included that the persons have been involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship. This does not include violence in a casual acquaintanceship or violence between individuals who only have engaged in ordinary fraternization in a business or social context.

Sexual Violence: any one of the following incidents qualifies as sexual violence. In order to file for an injunction against sexual violence the petitioner must be cooperating with law enforcement:

  1. Sexual battery as defined in Chapter 794;
  2. A lewd or lascivious act, as defined in Chapter 800, committed upon or in the presence of a person younger than 16 years of age;"
  3. Luring or enticing a child, as described in Chapter 787;
  4. Sexual performance by a child, as described in Chapter 827; or
  5. Any other forcible felony wherein a sexual act is committed or attempted, regardless of whether criminal charges based on the incident were filed, reduced, or dismissed by the State Attorney.

Stalking Violence: is a pattern of behavior as listed below that has occurred between individuals:

  1. "Harass" means to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person which causes substantial emotional distress to that person and serves no legitimate purpose.
  2. A pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time.
  3. A verbal or nonverbal threat, or a combination of the two, including threats received by electronic communication or implied by a pattern of conduct, which places the person who is the target of the threat in reasonable fear for his/her safety.
  4. "Cyberstalk" means to engage in a course of conduct to communicate, or to cause to be communicated, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at a specific person, causing substantial emotional distress to that person and serving no legitimate purpose.

Repeat Violence : there must be two incidents of violence or stalking committed by the respondent, one of which must have been within six months of the filing of the petition.

Violence means assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping or false imprisonment or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death.

When papers are filed in a court requesting an Injunction for Protection, the court hearing will usually be held within 15 days. The paperwork filed in court by the person seeking an injunction is called a PETITION for injunction. The following timeline is a general example of how the court process works in injunction for protection cases.

Filing:

The injunction process begins when a Petitioner files for an injunction at the Collier County Clerk of Courts. The Intake Unit staff will help Petitioners complete all the necessary paperwork required, including a Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence, Repeat Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Violence or Stalking. Petitioners are asked to review the typed petition, swear to the truth of the allegations stated in it, and then sign the petition.

The petition will then be given to a judge for review. Based on the law in Florida, the judge will either GRANT or DENY the petition that same day. The Clerk's Office will inform the Petitioner of the judge's decision.

The Temporary Injunction:

If the Petition for an injunction for protection is GRANTED by the Judge:

If the judge decides the sworn allegations contained in the paperwork meet the requirements of Florida law for the issuance of an injunction, the judge will enter a Temporary Injunction, which will be valid for 15 days and set for hearing within those 15 days. The Temporary Injunction, if issued, will require the respondent to have no contact with the person filing the injunction (the petitioner), stay away from the petitioner's home and workplace, vacate a shared residence, award temporary custody of minor children in common and require the surrender of firearms. The Petitioner will receive two (2) certified copies of the Temporary Injunction.

If the Petition for an injunction for protection is DENIED by the Judge:

There are circumstances where the Judge denies the request for a temporary injunction but where the Petitioner may still request a hearing where the Petitioner and the Respondent will appear before a judge.

Service of paperwork: As required by Florida law, all respondents must be personally served with the temporary injunction or the order to appear, along with a copy of the Petition, by a law enforcement officer. The clerk’s office will forward the Temporary Injunction or Order to Appear paperwork to the Sheriff's Office where an officer will attempt to personally serve the person who the Petition for Injunction is filed against (the respondent) with the injunction or order to appear for hearing paperwork. Until respondent is personally served with the paperwork, the Judge cannot go forward with the final hearing as descried below. If respondent has not been served by the time of the final hearing, the case will be reset to allow for such service. Any temporary injunction in place, will be extended until the following court date by the Judge.

Please Note: Cases will not be automatically reset if there is no service. Petitioners must appear in court the date of the hearing to request an extension of the injunction.
The Hearing:

At the court hearing, which is scheduled within 15 days from the date the petition was filed, the judge will decide whether to grant a Permanent Injunction after taking testimony from the parties and witnesses, and considering any evidence which is presented. At this hearing, the judge may: (1) dismiss the Temporary Injunction; (2) extend the Temporary Injunction for a period of another fifteen (15) days for good cause (for example, no service on respondent); or (3) issue a Permanent Injunction.

Hearings take place in a courtroom before a judge. These hearings are often very short (sometimes as little as 15 minutes), so you really need to plan ahead if you want to give the judge your information before he or she makes a decision. Take all of the documents that will be needed to show to the judge.

If you have been served with temporary injunction or the order to appear for hearing and you do not go to the hearing, the judge will go forward with hearing in your absence and you will be bound by the terms of the final injunction, if issued.

Be on time to court. Allow extra time for traffic or other possible delays.

(If you are delayed or unable to attend the hearing due to a car breakdown, sudden illness, or other emergency, contact:

  • Lee County: The Lee County Domestic Violence Unit at (239) 533-2884
  • Collier County: The Collier County Domestic Violence Case Management Unit at (239) 252-8675 or the Clerk’s office at (239) 252-2646
  • Charlotte County: Charlotte County Clerk Civil Division at (941) 637-2162
  • Glades County: Contact the Glades County Clerk of Court for more information at (863) 946-6010.
  • Hendry County: Hendry County Clerk of Court for more information at (863) 675-5204 or (863) 675-5217.

Witnesses: If you intend to call witnesses, make sure your witnesses know where to go and at what time. If you intend to call witnesses (other than you and the other side), you must arrange for your witnesses to be present at court. If your witness does not want to voluntarily attend the hearing, you can request a subpoena from the Clerks office to require the witness to appear at the hearing.

Additionally, if your child has important information about the violence or threats, ask the clerk’s office about how to have the judge hear from your child.

Videos: If you want the Judge to review a video on your phone, you must make arrangements to do so and have a copy of the video to be viewed (or the Judge may take your phone as evidence).

When you arrive for your hearing, please check in with court personnel.

If the person to be restrained is also at the court, and you are worried about your safety, please speak to court personnel who will assist you.

  • After you have checked in, take a seat and wait until your case is called.
  • Do not talk to, confront, or argue with the restrained person if you see him or her.

When your case is called, you will be asked to come up to the tables in front of the judge and sit facing the judge. The judge will then ask each of you to give your name for the court record. At this point, many judges will ask a few questions to help them understand what has happened. Since the hearing is the result of the Petitioner’s request for an injunction, the Petitioner will be asked to testify first.

  • If you have documents to show, be sure to give them to the bailiff to give to the judge at the time during the hearing when you think the information will make the most sense.
  • Once you have finished, the Respondent will have the chance to ask you, or your witnesses, questions about what was said.

Then it is the respondent’s turn to tell his/her side of the story, present witnesses, and to show whatever documents he/she thinks are important. Once the respondent and witnesses are finished, you will have a chance to ask him/her, and his/ her witnesses, questions.

If respondent has been served with the temporary injunction and does not show up for the permanent injunction hearing, the Judge can go forward with the hearing without the respondent present and make a decision on the case. Although not present at the hearing, the respondent will be bound by the terms of the final injunction, if issued.

At the end of the hearing, the judge will announce his or her decision while you are both present in court. The judge may (1) deny the request for an injunction and dismiss the case or (2) grant the request for a final injunction and issue a permanent injunction for a duration of time- usually for one year, or, for a specific amount of time or indefinitely based on the petitioner’s request. If the hearing cannot move forward that day the court may continue it to another day and set a new hearing date/time.

If the request for an injunction is DENIED, parties will receive a copy of the order of dismissal.

If the request for an Injunction for Protection is GRANTED the Judge will tell the parties how long the injunction will be in effect, and may also address time sharing and child support if the parties have children in common and there are no other court orders addressing these issues. Additionally, the judge may order respondent to attend classes.

If the judge signs an injunction against you, you MUST obey all orders within the injunction. If you do not, you can be arrested. After the court hearing, a law enforcement officer will serve you with the injunction outside of the courtroom.

It is very important that you clearly understand what you can and cannot do, if you have been restrained by the court. If you have questions that this website does not answer, you may want to consult with an attorney who is qualified in these matters.

In addition to you and the Petitioner, the police will get a copy of the Injunction. All injunctions are sent to a statewide registry of Injunctions that law enforcement agencies have access to. Injunctions issued in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, or Glades Counties can be enforced in every county in Florida, and throughout the United States.

Additionally, if you have a child(ren) in common with the Petitioner, the judge may order time sharing and/or child support as part of the injunction. Schools and/or day cares that the child(ren) attends may get copies of the injunction, including the time-sharing schedule.

If the protected person (petitioner) does not ask the court to extend the injunction or issue new orders, the injunction will end on the expiration date.