Stalking Protection Orders

Stalking protection orders are a newer type of protection order designed to assist those that do not have a family, or domestic relationship with the perpetrator, but who nonetheless are being followed, harassed, monitored, tracked, or kept under observation in a way that would cause a reasonable person to feel intimidated, frightened, or threatened and that actually causes such a feeling and serves no lawful purpose

These are more rare actions to see in the courts, but as criminal defense attorneys, we do occasionally encounter them. Having a stalking protection order on your record can cause you troubles in getting and keeping a job, as well as with obtaining housing. Imagine someone considering hiring you, or renting you an apartment and seeing that you have a history in court of stalking. We are seeing more and more situations where even potential romantic interests are doing background checks on potential partners, and can only imagine that a history of stalking would have a chilling effect on those relationships.

Like other types of protection order, these often start with an initial petition for protection order by the "petitioner" who is the person seeking the order of protection. They will have to offer a sworn statement in order to support their petition that should contain the allegation regarding what the improper conduct was, on the part of the respondent. The petitioner presents all of this on an "ex-parte" court calendar, usually in a district court, where a judge reviews the allegations and can issue a temporary order of protection that is valid until the time of the final protection order hearing. The temporary order and original petition are then usually served on the respondent, often times by a police officer. The temporary protection order will have a hearing date listed for a "full order", and at this hearing both sides are able to present evidence and testimony regarding their respective positions.

Many of the statutes and rules governing these orders can be found in Chapter 7.92 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), although state and local court rules should also be reviewed in preparation for hearings in these types of cases.

Need help with a stalking protection order?

When you are facing a harassment protection order hearing we can help. Call us at (253) 867-2675 to schedule a free initial consultation with the attorneys at Newton & Hall. Our office is located near the King County Courthouse in Kent, and we handle these matters in King and Pierce counties on a regular basis. We also handle other counties like Snohomish, Thurston and Kitsap, but are less often in those courts for protection order cases. We are able to assist petitioner in seeking stalking protection orders, as well as respondents in defending against them.

To see information about the criminal consequences of protection order violations click here.