Arnelle Strand, P.A.

Florida Law provides for four distinct types of Orders of Protection Against Violence known as Injunctions.  These orders protect an individual against domestic, repeat, dating and sexual violence.

1.     Domestic Violence is defined as an assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in the physical injury or death of a family household member by another. The petitioner must have reasonable cause to believe he/she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of an an act of domestic violence, or when it appears to the Court that an immediate and present danger of domestic violence exists.

A family member or household member is defined as : spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage; any person who is or was residing within a single dwelling with the petitioner as if a family; or a person with whom the petitioner has a child in common (regardless of marriage or cohabitation).

2.      Repeat Violence: A person who is the victim of repeat violence, or the parent or legal guardian of a minor child who is living a the home who is the victim of repeat violence.  There must be two incidents of an assault, battery or sexual battery, of which one must have occurred within the past six (6) months.

3.   Dating Violence means violence between individuals who have or have had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.  The dating relationship existed within the past six (6) months.  The relationship is characterized by the expectation of affection or sexual involvement between the parties.  The frequency and type of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship must have included that the persons have been involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship.

4.     Sexual Violence means:

a.    Any one (1) incident of sexual battery

b.    a lewd and lascivious act committed upon or in the presence of a person less than 16 years old

c.     luring or enticing a child

d.     sexual performance by a child

e.     any other forcible felony wherein a sexual act is committed or attempted, regardless of whether criminal charges based on the  incident were filed, reduced, or dismissed by the State Attorney.

When an individual file for an Injunction Against Domestic Violence, the Court will decide if there is sufficient information based on the Petition to grant an injunction without notice to the other party.  If the Injunction is granted, the person who committed the act of violence will be served with the Petition and there will be a no contact order until there is a hearing before the Court, usually within two weeks.  At the hearing, the Court will hear the evidence, testimony of witness and make a decision a to whether there was sufficient evidence presented to warrant the issuance of a permanent injunction.