Chicago Domestic Violence Lawyers: 555 Harrison
A person arrested for Domestic Violence (also called Domestic Battery) in Chicago, will go to court in the Cook County Circuit Court located at 555 West Harrison Street, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is also known as the First District of Cook County. The entire courthouse located at 555 West Harrison Street is dedicated to Domestic Violence, Order of Protection, Violation of Order of Protection, and related family law matters.
The state of Illinois has a number of legal remedies available to people who are arrested for Domestic Battery or are being accused of having harassed, abused or threatened others.
What Is Domestic Battery
Domestic Battery, also called Domestic Violence, is the allegation that the Defendant commits a battery against a person with whom the Defendant is in a romantic, sexual, or household relationship, or is a family member of the Defendant.
Illinois Orders of Protection
In Illinois, the relationship of the victim, also termed the petitioner, to the accused, known as the respondent, matters when determining what kind of protection order to apply. When the respondent is a family member, a resident of the same household, a spouse or a someone who the petitioner is dating or has dated in the past, then the type of order that will be issued is known as an Order of Protection.
Other types of court orders that restrain the behaviors of individuals who are menacing an Illinois resident include Civil No Contact Orders as well as Stalking Orders. However, these latter orders are used where the petitioner and respondent have no current or past domestic relationship. Because of the potential severity and high risk of escalation to actual violence, domestic situations in the state of Illinois are given their own special class of restraining order.
What are Orders of Protection for?
Domestic abuse is a serious accusation in the state of Illinois because prosecutors and police believe it is so often a precursor to serious domestic violence and even death. For this reason, Illinois state law gives judges wide latitude to restrain the behaviors of abusive partners who put children and spouses or significant others at risk of harm.
The main goal of an Order of Protection is to stop ongoing abusive or violent acts and to prevent such acts from recurring in the future. Orders of Protection usually center around injunctions for the respondent against making any physical contact with the petitioner. This is often carefully defined in terms of actual distance as measured in feet, usually prohibiting the respondent from willfully coming within 50 to 100 feet of the petitioner.
Orders of Protection may also include restrictions beyond just avoiding physical contact. Many Orders of Protection include prohibitions against the respondent contacting the petitioner by telephone, email, written notes, social media or even third parties. They may prohibit the respondent from coming near the petitioner’s school, home or work even when the petitioner is not present in those places. They may also include orders to return or stay away from property or pets.
In a few more serious cases, Orders of Protection may even mandate the respondent to move out of a residence that they cohabit with the petitioner. In some cases, this may even include removing the respondent from a home that they own. Respondents may also be ordered to pay child support or attend counseling.
Domestic Battery Charges and Orders of Protection often ensnare the innocent
Because of the severe and well-publicized consequences of domestic violence, Illinois courts reflexively favor victims of domestic abuse. While the system that has sprung up to defend victims of domestic violence has generally done more good than harm, innocent people are still sometimes trapped by the draconian and life-altering terms that Orders of Protection often entail.
If you have been targeted by an unfair or outright malicious Order of Protection, please contact the Kostopoulos Law Group. We can help you achieve the best outcome in your case.
