Restraining Order Attorney: Protecting Your Safety and Legal Rights

If you have been served with an ex parte order, the hearing that decides whether it becomes a full order must be held within 15 days of the petition being filed. That hearing is where the case is actually decided — not the day you were served. Free consultation. Call 816-228-6000.

Restraining order, protection order, ex parte — what Missouri calls it

Most people say “restraining order”. Missouri courts say order of protection. They are the same thing in ordinary conversation, and Chapter 455 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri is the law that governs them.

You will also hear ex parte, which is not a different kind of order — it describes how the first one is granted. Ex parte means one side only. The court hears the petition, and if it finds the standard met it issues an immediate order without the other person present.

That feels wrong to almost everyone it happens to. Understanding why it works that way is the first step to handling it properly: the ex parte order exists to cover the gap before a hearing can be arranged. It is temporary by design.

Two orders, and only one of them decides anything

The ex parte order is issued on the petition alone. The respondent is not there and does not get to respond. It is short-term.

The full order of protection is what comes out of the hearing, where both sides appear and evidence is heard. This is the one with real duration and real consequences.

Under Chapter 455 the hearing must be held not later than 15 days after the petition is filed, unless the court grants a continuance for good cause. Nearly everything that matters happens inside those fifteen days.

How long a full order lasts

• Standard — at least 180 days and not more than one year
• Where the court finds serious danger — at least two years, and up to ten
• Renewal — full orders can be renewed, and the statute is explicit that a subsequent act of abuse, stalking or sexual assault is not required for a renewal

That last point catches both sides out. People frequently assume an order simply lapses and the matter ends. It does not necessarily.

If you have been served

Take the fifteen days seriously, and do these things in this order.

1. Obey the order completely, starting immediately. Every term of it — including terms you believe are unfair or based on things that did not happen. Violating a protection order is a criminal matter that creates an entirely new case, and it hands the other side the strongest evidence they could ask for at the hearing.

2. No contact means no contact. Not through a friend. Not through a relative. Not through your children. Not a single message that only says you would like to talk. Indirect contact is still contact.

3. Read what it actually restrains. Orders can affect where you live, your contact with your children, and your possession of firearms. Read the terms rather than assuming you know them.

4. Preserve everything now. Messages, call logs, location data, receipts — anything that establishes where you were and what was said. Phones cycle their storage and app histories vanish. Fifteen days is not long.

5. Show up. Not appearing does not make it go away. It means the order enters against you unopposed.

What an order costs you beyond the order itself

This is the part people underestimate, because they focus on the immediate restrictions and miss what follows.

• Firearms. A protection order can affect your ability to possess firearms. If your work requires it, this is not a side issue.
• Your custody case. If there is a family law matter running, a full order lands directly in the middle of it — Missouri’s custody statute directs the court to consider the mental and physical health of everyone involved, including any history of abuse.
• Housing and employment. Civil orders are matters of record and can surface in screening.
• Duration. A serious-danger finding can attach to you for up to a decade.

If you are the one seeking protection

The same fifteen days apply to you, and the burden of proof is yours.

What tends to decide these hearings is specificity. Dates. Times. What was said, as closely as you can recall it. Photographs. Messages kept rather than deleted. The names of anyone who saw or heard something. A petition that describes a pattern in general terms is far weaker than one that pins three incidents to particular dates.

Bring what you have and be ready to be questioned on it. The other side gets to appear and respond — that is the entire point of the hearing.

How Troy handles these

The firm takes both sides of protection order cases: filing them for people who need protection, and defending people who have been served.

Troy J. Leavitt has practised in the Jackson County courts for more than 25 years, including time as a prosecutor — which matters here, because these cases sit on the line between the family courts and the criminal courts and frequently touch both. He has seen how an allegation is evaluated from the prosecution side and how a protection order interacts with a criminal file.

You can see a sample of matters the firm has handled on our case results page.

Common questions

Can the hearing be moved?

The statute contemplates a continuance for good cause. It is not automatic, and it is not a way to avoid the hearing.

Can it be dismissed if we reconcile?

The petitioner can ask the court to dismiss it. What you cannot do is privately agree to ignore an order that is still in force — while it stands it binds the respondent regardless of what the petitioner now says is fine. Violations get prosecuted even where the petitioner does not want them to be.

What if the allegations are simply untrue?

Then the hearing is where that gets established, with evidence. It does not get established by contacting the petitioner to argue about it — which is both a violation and the fastest way to lose the hearing.

Does an order of protection give me a criminal record?

An order of protection is a civil matter, not a criminal conviction. Violating one is a criminal matter.

Will it affect my divorce or custody case?

It can, significantly. If you have a family law matter running or expect one, that needs to be part of the conversation from the first day rather than treated as a separate problem. Our child custody page covers the factors a Missouri court weighs.

Is the consultation free?

Yes — consultations on protection order and criminal matters are free. Call 816-228-6000.

The clock started when the petition was filed

Whether you have been served or you need protection, the fifteen days are the case. Troy J. Leavitt handles orders of protection in Blue Springs, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Grain Valley, Oak Grove and across Jackson County.

Free consultation — call 816-228-6000 today rather than next week.

This page is general information about Missouri law, not legal advice about your situation. Hearing timeframes and order durations are drawn from Chapter 455 RSMo. Every case turns on its own facts and no outcome can be promised.