Consequences of a TRO/FRO

A restraining order can have lasting effects on your personal and professional life.

Among other consequences, a restraining order can cause damage to your reputation, preclude you from entering your home or having contact with your children, and negate your right to own and keep firearms.

A TRO can and generally will require that the abuser be temporarily forbidden from: (1) entering or living at the home, (2) having contact with the victim or the victim’s relatives, including the children, or (3) bothering the victim at work. A TRO can also provide for temporary custody of the parties’ children and require the abuser to pay temporary support for the victim or the victim’s children.

The restriction of a defendant’s right of access to his or her own home can be profoundly disruptive to the lives of the defendant and other family members. If you are barred from your home by a restraining order, then you will have to find other housing at your own expense. Depending on the facts of the case, you may also be prohibited from contact or allowed only supervised contact with your children. These are serious consequences that affect not only your comfort and peace of mind, but can also have a significant and lasting impact on your children.

New Jersey law further requires that if a temporary restraining order (TRO) is issued, it must provide for the seizure of weapons in the defendant’s possession. The police officer serving the TRO must also “seize any firearm purchaser identification card or permit to purchase a handgun issued to the person accused of the act of domestic violence.” As a result, a restraining order immediately strips the defendant of the right to own or possess firearms. If a final restraining order (“FRO”) is issued, the defendant is required to submit fingerprints, and his or her name is added to the Administrative Office of the Courts registry for domestic violence offenders with restraining orders. The defendant will also forfeit all rights to own a firearm and, if not already done, may be required to surrender other weapons in possession.

This information has been compiled as a result of the numerous trials and domestic violence matters Kevin B. Legreide, Esq. has conducted and been involved in over the years. Mr. Legreide is also very experienced in criminal and municipal matters and understands the relationship between a civil domestic violence matter and the pending criminal or municipal matter.

The potential consequences of having a TRO or a FRO issued against you are too numerous to fully detail here. To discuss your case and the consequences of a TRO and/or FRO, call the experienced team at Mark | Lavigne, LLC now. Mark | Lavigne, LLC provides domestic violence assistance to all of Ocean and Monmouth Counties in central New Jersey and Somerset, Essex, Hunterdon, Union and Middlesex Counties.