Getting accused of violating a domestic violence protection order can turn your life upside down. The legal system takes these violations seriously, and the penalties can affect your freedom, your job, and your family relationships for years to come.
Understanding what happens when someone breaks a protection order is important, whether you’re facing charges or just want to know your rights. This guide explains the different types of orders in Colorado, how violations are handled, and what penalties you might face.
What Is a Domestic Violence Protection Order?
A domestic violence protection order is a court order that tells one person to stay away from another person to keep them safe. These orders are also called restraining orders or no-contact orders. They’re designed to protect people from abuse, threats, harassment, or stalking.
Protection orders can require many different things. The person named in the order might have to stay a certain distance away from the protected person. They might be forbidden from calling, texting, emailing, or contacting them through social media. Some orders also say the person can’t own or possess firearms.
These orders aren’t just suggestions. They’re legal requirements backed by criminal penalties. Breaking any part of a protection order, even accidentally, can lead to arrest and criminal charges.
Types of Protection Orders in Colorado
Colorado law recognizes several different types of protection orders. Each one serves a specific purpose and lasts for different amounts of time.
Temporary Protection Orders
Temporary protection orders provide short-term protection while waiting for a full court hearing. A judge can issue one of these orders quickly, sometimes on the same day someone requests it. The person asking for protection doesn’t need to prove their case completely at this stage.
These temporary orders typically last about 14 days. That gives the court time to schedule a hearing where both sides can present evidence and tell their story.
Permanent Protection Orders
Despite the name, permanent protection orders don’t necessarily last forever. A judge grants these after holding a full hearing where both the person seeking protection and the accused can present evidence, call witnesses, and make arguments.
If the judge decides a permanent order is needed, it stays in effect indefinitely. However, the order can be modified or dismissed later if circumstances change. Until a judge officially changes or removes the order, though, all of its terms must be followed exactly.
Emergency Protection Orders
Law enforcement officers can request emergency protection orders in urgent situations. These provide immediate protection when someone is in danger and can’t wait for regular court hours. Emergency orders stay in place until the court can hold a hearing, usually within a few days.
Criminal Protection Orders vs. Civil Protection Orders
Criminal protection orders are issued by a criminal court judge during criminal proceedings. If someone is charged with domestic violence, assault, stalking, or harassment, the judge often automatically issues a criminal protection order to protect the alleged victim throughout the case.
Civil protection orders, on the other hand, are requested by individuals through the civil court system. Someone doesn’t need to file criminal charges to get a civil protection order. They just need to convince a judge that they need protection from harm or harassment.
Both types of orders carry serious consequences if violated, but the penalties can differ.
Mandatory Protection Orders
In Colorado, mandatory protection orders are automatically put in place once someone is charged with certain crimes. These orders start at the defendant’s first court appearance and remain active through the entire criminal case, including any probation period afterward.
The defendant doesn’t get a choice about whether this order exists. It’s automatic. This is different from other protection orders that someone has to specifically request.
How Protection Orders Are Monitored and Enforced
Protection orders rely on several monitoring methods to make sure people follow them. The main way courts find out about violations is through reports from the protected person or from law enforcement officers who witness violations.
If the protected person sees or experiences a violation, they can call the police and file a report. Officers will investigate by gathering evidence like text messages, emails, voicemail recordings, social media messages, witness statements, or surveillance video.
In some cases, electronic monitoring technology helps track whether the restrained person stays away from prohibited areas. GPS monitoring can alert authorities if someone goes near the protected person’s home or workplace.
Law enforcement takes protection order violations seriously. When officers have probable cause to believe a violation occurred, they must make an arrest. This is required by Colorado law. Officers don’t have the option to just give a warning.
Criminal Penalties for Violating a Protection Order
The penalties for breaking a protection order depend on several factors. These include what type of order was violated, whether it’s a first offense or a repeat violation, and whether any other crimes were committed at the same time.
Violating a Criminal Protection Order
Breaking a criminal protection order is automatically treated as a Class 1 misdemeanor for a first offense. The penalties include:
- Up to 18 months in county jail
- Fines up to $5,000
- A permanent criminal record
Second and subsequent violations of criminal protection orders are classified as extraordinary risk offenses. These carry even harsher penalties:
- Up to 2 years in county jail
- Fines up to $5,000
- Enhanced criminal record that shows multiple violations
Violating a Civil Protection Order
Civil protection order violations are treated slightly differently. A first violation is charged as a Class 2 misdemeanor with these potential penalties:
- Up to 1 year in county jail
- Fines up to $1,000
- Criminal record
If someone violates a civil protection order a second time or more, the charge gets upgraded to a Class 1 misdemeanor and is treated as an extraordinary risk offense:
- Up to 2 years in county jail
- Fines up to $5,000
- More serious criminal record
What Makes an Extraordinary Risk Offense Different
Colorado law treats repeat protection order violations as extraordinary risk offenses because they show an increased threat to public safety. Someone who violates a protection order multiple times demonstrates a pattern of ignoring court orders and potentially endangering others.
Extraordinary risk classification means judges can impose longer jail sentences than they could for regular misdemeanors. It also signals to future employers, landlords, and others that the person has repeatedly broken the law despite previous consequences.
Additional Consequences Beyond Jail and Fines
Criminal penalties are just the beginning. Violating a protection order can create problems that last much longer than any jail sentence.
Impact on Employment
Having a misdemeanor or felony conviction on your record makes finding and keeping a job much harder. Many employers run background checks on job applicants. A conviction for violating a protection order raises red flags about your judgment, reliability, and ability to follow rules.
Some professions won’t hire anyone with a domestic violence-related conviction. This includes jobs in healthcare, education, law enforcement, and positions requiring professional licenses. Even jobs that don’t have strict requirements might pass you over for someone without a criminal record.
Housing Problems
Landlords also conduct background checks before renting apartments or houses. A protection order violation conviction can make it difficult to find housing. Many landlords see any criminal record as too risky, especially convictions involving violence or threats.
Public housing programs have even stricter rules. Some will automatically deny applications from people with certain convictions.
Damage to Personal Relationships
A protection order violation conviction affects how others see you. Friends, family members, and romantic partners might view you differently. The stigma of a domestic violence-related conviction can strain or end important relationships in your life.
Child Custody and Visitation Consequences
If you have children, violating a protection order can seriously hurt your custody rights and visitation schedule. Family court judges consider protection order violations when making decisions about what’s in a child’s best interests.
A violation shows the judge that you don’t respect court orders. It can also raise concerns about whether you provide a safe environment for children. Judges might reduce your parenting time, require supervised visitation, or even remove custody rights altogether.
Even if the protection order doesn’t directly involve your children, the violation conviction still appears in family court proceedings. It becomes part of your history that judges consider when making custody decisions.
Firearm Restrictions
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from possessing firearms or ammunition. This is a lifetime ban that applies nationwide. Colorado law also restricts gun ownership for people subject to protection orders.
If you own guns, you’ll need to transfer them to someone else or turn them over to law enforcement. Failing to do this creates additional criminal charges. The firearms ban continues even after the protection order expires if you were convicted of violating it.
Immigration Consequences
For people who aren’t U.S. citizens, a protection order violation can have severe immigration consequences. Domestic violence convictions can lead to deportation, denial of visa renewals, and barriers to obtaining citizenship.
Even legal permanent residents (green card holders) can face removal proceedings based on certain domestic violence convictions. The immigration consequences sometimes end up being more serious than the criminal penalties.
Can the Protected Person Get in Trouble for Contact?
This is a common question, and the answer surprises many people. Protection orders only restrict the actions of the person named in the order. The protected person can legally contact the restrained person without any legal consequences.
However, if the restrained person responds to that contact, they’re the one who violated the order. It doesn’t matter who initiated the conversation. The court doesn’t recognize “but they contacted me first” as a valid defense.
This rule seems unfair to many people, but it exists for important reasons. Allowing a mutual contact defense would give abusers a way to manipulate victims into initiating contact, then claim the victim wanted the interaction. It would also put victims in the position of facing potential criminal liability for their own protection order.
The bottom line is simple. If you’re subject to a protection order, you must avoid all contact with the protected person, even if they reach out to you first. Don’t respond to calls, texts, emails, or social media messages. Don’t go to places where you might run into them.
What Happens After You’re Accused of a Violation
The process moves quickly once someone reports a protection order violation. Understanding what happens next can help you prepare.
Arrest and Booking
Colorado law requires police officers to arrest someone if they have probable cause to believe a protection order violation occurred. You’ll be taken to jail and booked. This involves fingerprints, photographs, and processing paperwork.
You’ll likely spend at least one night in jail before seeing a judge. In some cases, especially if the violation occurred on a weekend, you might be held for several days before your first court appearance.
First Court Appearance
At your first appearance, the judge will inform you of the charges and your rights. The judge will also decide whether to set bond and what conditions should apply if you’re released.
For protection order violations, judges often set strict bond conditions. These might include GPS monitoring, no contact with the alleged victim, staying away from certain locations, and checking in regularly with pretrial services.
Building Your Defense
The prosecutor has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you violated the protection order. This means they must show that you knew about the order and intentionally violated its terms.
Possible Defenses
Several defenses might apply depending on your situation:
- You didn’t know a protection order existed
- You didn’t intentionally violate the order
- The contact was accidental or unavoidable
- The allegations are false or exaggerated
- Law enforcement made mistakes during the investigation
- The evidence doesn’t support the charges
Each case is different. What works as a defense in one situation might not help in another. That’s why getting legal help right away matters so much.
Responding to False or Unjust Allegations
Sometimes protection orders are issued based on false allegations, misunderstandings, or exaggerated claims. Other times, someone might be falsely accused of violating an order they actually followed.
If you believe a protection order was granted unfairly, you have the right to challenge it in court. You can present evidence and testimony that contradicts the allegations. You can call witnesses who support your version of events. You can point out inconsistencies in the other person’s story.
Similarly, if you’re accused of violating an order but didn’t actually break any rules, you can fight the charges. Maybe you were somewhere you were allowed to be, and the protected person happened to show up. Maybe someone else sent messages pretending to be you. Maybe the protected person is lying about what happened.
Fighting false allegations requires gathering evidence quickly. This might include:
- Witness statements from people who were with you
- GPS data or cell phone location records
- Security camera footage
- Text messages or emails that show what actually happened
- Phone records proving you didn’t make certain calls
- Social media posts or messages showing the truth
The sooner you start building your defense, the better your chances of success.
Why You Need Legal Help
Protection order violation cases are complicated. The law has many technical requirements. Evidence rules determine what can and can’t be used in court. Prosecutors have experience handling these cases. Judges have seen hundreds of similar situations.
Trying to handle a protection order violation case on your own puts you at a serious disadvantage. You might not know what defenses are available. You might accidentally say something that hurts your case. You might miss deadlines or make procedural mistakes that can’t be fixed later.
An experienced criminal defense attorney knows how these cases work. They can review all the evidence, interview witnesses, challenge improper evidence, negotiate with prosecutors, and present your defense effectively in court.
The stakes are too high to go it alone. Your freedom, your criminal record, your job, your housing, and your family relationships all hang in the balance.
Get Legal Help Today
If you’ve been accused of violating a domestic violence protection order, time is not on your side. Evidence disappears. Witnesses’ memories fade. Opportunities to build a strong defense slip away.
Bruno Lilly LeClere, PLLC, provides aggressive and compassionate defense for people facing protection order violation charges. We understand that these cases often involve complicated relationships and difficult circumstances. Our goal is to protect your rights, challenge unfair allegations, and fight for the best possible outcome in your case.
Don’t wait to get help. Call Bruno Lilly LeClere, PLLC at (720) 340-1373 today to discuss your situation and learn about your options. Your future is too important to leave to chance.