During recent years legislatures and courts have increased their awareness of the need to protect persons vulnerable to domestic violence. Consequently, obtaining a Seattle order of protection, issued by a court and preventing a violence perpetrator from contacting the protected party(s), is a fairly simple and easy process. A Seattle order of protection, at least a temporary order, may be obtained from the Superior, District, or Municipal court. The Seattle order of protection may be issued ex parte (without the respondent’s presence) on an emergency basis when appropriate. Finally, the legislature has developed facilitation programs to assist those in need to get a Seattle order of protection.
While a temporary Seattle order of protection may be obtained ex parte in any court, proper jurisdiction is in the Superior court. However, the legislature wished to prevent turning violence victims away just because they file in the wrong court. Once you obtain a Seattle protection order in the district or municipal court, that court will automatically transfer the case to Superior court. Furthermore, once the Seattle protection order is obtained ex parte, that day the court will set a full hearing within two weeks where the respondent gets a chance to respond. Moreover, an ex parte Seattle order of protection, even after entered by the court, is not effective unless and until it is served upon the respondent. Fortunately, law enforcement officers will serve that order, if the respondent’s location is known.
These developments in Seattle protection order law benefit both victims of domestic violence and society as a whole when real or threatened violence is averted. However, the ease in obtaining a Seattle order of protection also makes it amenable to abuse, especially in child custody cases. Consequently, care and respect for the law should be taken when undergoing the very important process of obtaining a Seattle order of protection.
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