An emergency protective order can go into effect the same night as an arrest. It can remove you from your home, restrict access to your children, and limit your movements before a single court hearing has taken place. Talking to an expert criminal defense lawyer right after a domestic violence arrest in San Bernardino County is one of the most urgent steps you can take, since understanding how these orders work and what can be done about them often shapes the days that follow.
Our team handles emergency protective orders as part of our domestic violence defense practice for clients across San Bernardino, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Colton, Rialto, and the surrounding Inland Empire communities. Below is a straightforward look at what these orders mean and what your options are.
What an Emergency Protective Order Is
An emergency protective order (EPO) is issued by law enforcement at the scene of a domestic violence incident. Under California Family Code Section 6250, any peace officer responding to a domestic violence call may request an EPO from a judicial officer who is available 24 hours a day for exactly this purpose.
An EPO goes into effect immediately upon issuance and lasts between five and seven calendar days. It is a short-term order designed to provide immediate protection before a court can convene a formal hearing. The brevity of an EPO does not make it less serious. Violating its terms is a separate criminal offense under California Penal Code 273.6.
How Officers Decide to Request an EPO
Officers responding to a domestic violence call assess the situation on arrival and make a judgment call about whether an EPO is warranted. The factors they consider include visible injuries to either party, statements made by the alleged victim or any witnesses, the presence of weapons at the scene, prior call history at that address, and whether children are present.
An EPO can be issued even if no arrest is made. It can also be issued against you even if the alleged victim does not request one. The decision rests entirely with the responding officer based on their on-scene assessment, and that assessment happens quickly under pressure.
What an EPO Can Require You to Do
An EPO can prohibit you from contacting the protected person directly or indirectly, require you to leave a shared residence immediately, restrict your access to your children if they are listed as protected persons, and prohibit you from possessing firearms or ammunition.
An EPO does not resolve the underlying criminal case. It is a separate civil order that runs alongside any criminal proceedings. The consequences of violating an EPO are real and immediate, regardless of the circumstances of the original incident or your belief about whether the order is justified.
What Happens When the EPO Expires
An EPO lasts only a few days. After it expires, one of three things typically happens. The alleged victim may apply for a temporary restraining order (TRO) through civil or family court. The criminal court may issue a criminal protective order (CPO) as part of the ongoing prosecution. Or, if no further action is taken, the protective order expires without replacement.
In practice, courts in San Bernardino County routinely issue criminal protective orders at the arraignment stage in domestic violence cases, often before the facts of the incident have been fully examined by either side. This means the short window of an EPO is often followed immediately by a longer-term order through the criminal court.
How to Challenge or Modify a Protective Order
A protective order can be challenged or modified through the appropriate court. The process depends on whether the order is a civil restraining order or a criminal protective order.
For civil restraining orders, the restrained party has the right to request a hearing and present evidence against the order being made permanent. For criminal protective orders, modification requires a motion filed in the criminal case and a showing that the order terms are no longer necessary or are causing unreasonable hardship. We have filed successful modification motions in cases where the protective order's terms were creating significant problems for our clients, particularly in situations involving shared custody arrangements, shared housing, or shared employment.
The Impact on Housing, Children, and Daily Life
The immediate practical consequences of an EPO or subsequent protective order can be severe. Being removed from your home with little notice, losing daily contact with your children, and having your movements restricted all happen before any court has fully heard your side of the situation.
If you are removed from your home under a protective order, do not return without legal clearance. If you share children with the protected person, the order's terms govern what contact is permitted. These are not situations to try to work out informally. Every action you take while a protective order is in place needs to be within its terms, and when those terms are causing genuine hardship, the right move is to file for modification through counsel.
Our domestic violence defense practice addresses protective orders as part of a complete defense strategy, including requests for modification and coordination with family law proceedings when custody is affected.
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