By Brandon A. Prenger*
Hey welcome back. If you’re reading this you have decided that option number 1 is not going to work out. That leaves you with option 2. Let’s keep in mind, all the standard restrictions apply to option 2 just as option 1, so you still can’t contact the Protected Person in any way. This way is the long way for a reason; statutorily you have to wait 2 years from the issuance of the protection order to petition the court to dismiss it. This has recently changed from a 4 year waiting period to a 2 year waiting period, which highlights the ever changing laws and the need for an attorney to guide you through the process.
Once the 2 year waiting period has passed, the first step is to get fingerprinted. You need to get fingerprinted in order to conduct a fingerprint based background check. This can be done at your local police/sheriff’s office. You’ll need 2 separate fingerprint cards, one for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and one for the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The FBI requires you to provide a few extra documents, but your attorney can help you with those. Once your cards are submitted to the CBI and the FBI, it’s a waiting game. It often takes several weeks to get these results back.
The second step, once you have your results back, is to locate the Protected Person. In order for your attorney to file a motion to dismiss your Protection Order, the Protected Person must be personally served with a notice of your motion. This can be problematic because if you do not know where the Protected Person is, it will be difficult to look for them without violating your protection order. Again, your attorney will help with this and keep you from violating the order.
Now that we know where the protected person is, your attorney can file your motion and get a hearing set. This is the most important part. At this hearing you have to convince a judge that your Protection Order should be dropped. You must show that you are no longer a threat to the Protected Person and that you pose no danger to them. The judge will look at the length of time the Protection Order has been in place, whether you have ever violated it, and the background facts surrounding the Protection Order. If all goes according to plan, your Protection Order will be dropped at this hearing.
The post I just got a Permanent Protection Order…. What do I do now? Part 2 appeared first on Gasper Law Group.