No contact orders are imposed by the court as a condition of pretrial release for a defendant. When a no contact order is imposed in your case, you are prohibited from directly or indirectly contacting someone who is allegedly the victim of criminal violence or harassment for as long as the criminal case lasts, except where that order is lifted or modified. If you are facing charges for a no contact order violation in, an experienced St. Petersburg domestic violence attorney can help you assert your rights. Hanlon Law fights for the accused.
When Is A No Contact Order Put in Place?Florida courts may impose a no contact order in a criminal case where the judge is concerned the victim could be threatened or be at risk for further violence. This order may be put in place in domestic violence, battery, assault, and other cases involving violence or threats of violence.
When a no contact order is put in place by the court, you are not allowed to interact in any way with a victim. You are not permitted to call the victim, text the victim, direct message the victim, gesture towards the victim, or even send a package to the victim. You can’t get in touch with the victim through a social media platform like Facebook or Twitter. Even indirect methods of contact are prohibited. This means you can’t use a mutual friend to send a message to the victim. And the victim can’t agree to receive a communication through an intermediary or directly either. You will not be able to defend yourself from a charge related to a no contact order violation by claiming the victim called you or otherwise got in touch with you first. The order is imposed by the court, and it can only be lifted or modified by the court. If you need to alleviate the hardship of a no contact order, you must ask the court to lift or modify the order, and a seasoned domestic violence lawyer can assist you.
No Contact Order ViolationsYou can be charged with a first degree misdemeanor for violating a no contact order. This is not a continuation of the underlying domestic violence or other charges that resulted in the no contact order being put in place. Rather, violating the no contact order subjects you to a completely new set of charges based on contact with the victim.
Every time you contact the victim in violation of a no contact order, it is a separate crime. So if you call the victim one Friday, then text her two days later, and then send her a Facebook message the following week, that is three no contact order violations with which you can be charged. If you’re convicted of multiple violations of a no contact order, you could face years of incarceration. This could have huge impacts on any family law matters you face, and otherwise greatly affect your life.
Unlike protective orders that continue on years into the future, no contact orders are put in place during a criminal case. Sometimes people are tempted to violate a no contact order because they think they can convince a victim to change their testimony or persuade the victim they’ve changed. However, if you violate the no contact order, you may have your bail revoked and you may be sent back to jail until trial for the underlying offense, whether it’s domestic violence or another violent crime. Additionally, if you commit the violation intending to coerce the victim to drop the charges or convince other witnesses to threaten or coerce the victim, you can be charged with witness tampering as well.
St. Petersburg Attorneys for No Contact Order ViolationsIf you have been charged with violating a no contact order in St. Petersburg, you should take the charges seriously, and skillful criminal lawyer can help you develop a defense strategy. At Hanlon Law, our founder Will Hanlon has provided defenses those accused of criminal offenses since 1994. Please contact Hanlon Law at 727.289.0222 or via our online form.