If you have been served with an Emergency Order of Protection you do have options.  First, you should contact a Domestic Relations/Divorce attorney and consult with that attorney about which options are most appropriate for your specific instance.

Your first option would be to motion with the court to have the Emergency Order of Protection vacated.  Generally, Emergency Petitions for Orders of Protection are done Ex Parte (without the defendant present).  Everyone in the United States has Due Process rights.  That includes your right to be present when hearing are conducted against you.  It is important to speak with an attorney as quickly as possible so you don’t accidently waive your rights to have the court listen to your argument as to why the Emergency Order should be vacated.

You also have the option of having a rehearing on the Emergency Order of Protection.  As with a Motion to Vacate the Emergency Order, there are limitations as to what circumstances must exist before you can Motion the Court to re-hear the Emergency Petition.  You need to speak with an attorney who handles civil orders of protection to discuss your rights.

Another option is to merely wait until the Plenary hearing and present your defenses at that time.  There are risks associated with this strategy in that if you lose the Plenary hearing, a Plenary Order of Protection may be issued for up to 2 years.  A variety of remedies are available to the plaintiff in a Plenary Order of Protection that are not available in an Emergency Order.  Some of those include custody award, ordering you to mental health therapy, exclusive possession of the residence (although this is also available in Emergency Situations) and the like.

Your final option is to contact an attorney and try to negotiate some form of temporary injunction or temporary restraining order.  Negotiation doesn’t mean “GUILTY”. Negotiation means you have the common sense to try and mitigate potential exposure for both you and the other party while saving the costs and expenses of litigation.  It is not uncommon for hearings on Orders of Protection to last 1/2 day (3-4 hours).  Even at “affordable” attorneys rates, you could be looking at close to $1,000.00 in fees for the hearing.

If you’ve been served with an order of protection, you need to contact an attorney ASAP.  You don’t want to waive any of your rights or risk having a Plenary Order of Protection entered against you.