Personal Protection Orders, or PPO’s are legal documents that help to protect you from a person who is harassing or threatening you. There are two types of PPO’s, Domestic and Stalking PPO. A Domestic PPO can be obtained when the person one is seeking protection from is a spouse or former spouse, someone with whom they have a child in common, someone they are dating or used to date, and someone who now lives or has lived in the same house as the petitioner. A stalking PPO is for protection against someone that has engaged in a pattern of two or more non-continuous acts that made a person feel threatened, harassed, frightened, or molested.

The person who applies for a PPO is called the Petitioner and the person they are seeking a PPO against is called the Respondent. In order to be effective, a PPO must be properly served on the Respondent. Once it is, it take immediate effect. The Judge will mark on the PPO what the Respondent is not allowed to do under the PPO, which can include presence on the Petitioner’s home or place of employment, communication, etc. Also, a Respondent must relinquish all weapons when served with a PPO.

PPO’s are effective for a specific period of time, which is written on the PPO itself. Once served, a Respondent has time to challenge the PPO by filing a Motion to Dismiss/Terminate and the Judge will decide at a hearing. If the Respondent violates a PPO, they can be arrested at the police’s discretion. The Petitioner also has the option to file a Motion to Show Cause, where the Judge will decide if the Respondent has violated the PPO and if they should serve time in jail and/or impose a fine.

PPO’s can be an important proactive line of defense for a person who has been threatened but it can also be a damaging tool if used improperly. Whether you have a PPO and need to defend it against a Motion to Dismiss/Terminate or you have been served with a PPO and need to know what to do, Longton Law Offices stands ready to help you determine how best to move forward.