Nashville Orders of Protection Attorney
If you’ve been served with an ex-parte or temporary order of protection, you must act quickly to prevent it from becoming an extended order of protection. If the judge extends the temporary order of protection, you risk losing your right to spend time with your family, decide where you live, and have custody of your child, as well as owning a firearm, among other restrictions.
Having a seasoned Nashville orders of protection attorney on your side can significantly influence what happens with your case. At Andrew C. Beasley, PLLC, our Nashville orders of protection attorney is a former district attorney with more than a decade of orders of protection experience. Attorney Andrew C. Beasley has handled numerous orders of protection and knows how to protect your rights.
What You Should Know About Nashville, TN, Orders of Protection
A temporary order of protection is a temporary court order issued to protect the petitioner (usually an alleged victim of domestic violence, stalking, sex crime, or a related offense) against the threat of immediate or suspected harm. Courts can issue this order of protection without the defendant knowing about it. While temporary orders of protection are only valid for 15 days, they can be extended if you cannot defend yourself properly at the hearing and the judge decides you are a threat to the victim.
After the judge has reviewed and cross-examined the evidence against you, they must decide whether or not the ex-parte order must be extended. Extended orders of protection are usually valid for one year but may be extended. If you are issued an extended order of protection, you may be:
- Banned from contacting and harming the petitioner
- Prohibited from living with and near the petitioner
- Banned from owning, purchasing, or carrying a firearm
- Lose custody of your child
- Ordered to pay spousal support or child support
- Ordered to attend programs to address violence, substance abuse, or control issues
You must also know that if you violate an order of protection, you will be charged with a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by jail time of up to 11 months or more. The judge may also extend the order of protection up to five or ten years on the subsequent violation. You will also be arrested if the victim claims you violated the order of protection.
How Our Nashville Orders of Protection Attorney Can Help
Once you learn that an order of protection has been filed against you, make sure to read the terms thoroughly and follow all of them. Otherwise, you risk violating it and facing criminal penalties. You should then reach out to the Nashville orders of protection attorney at Andrew C. Beasley, PLLC, right away. Tennessee courts take orders of protection immensely seriously because they are often issued due to allegations of stalking, domestic violence, assault, and other sex crimes.
Our Nashville orders of protection attorney will investigate your case promptly and determine the best way to defend yourself during the order protection hearing. They can also fight whatever criminal charges you are facing related to the order of protection.
Obtain Legal Assistance From an Experienced Nashville Orders of Protection Attorney
For more information on how our Nashville orders of protection attorney can fight an order of protection against you, contact Andrew C. Beasley, PLLC, and schedule your free consultation online or at 615-846-9889.