What is a Civil Harassment Restraining Order?
In Civil Court, as opposed to Family Court, special procedures are available to provide quick relief to persons who have suffered harassment at the hands of others, if great or irreparable injury is threatened. The California Code of Civil Procedure defines harassment as either: 1) unlawful violence (assault, battery or stalking other than in self-defense of others); 2) credible threats of violence (a statement or course of conduct willfully placing another in fear for safety of self and family member; or 3) a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses that person, serves no legitimate purpose and would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and in fact causes the victim to suffer such distress. Keep in mind that this remedy cannot be used to prohibit constitutionally protected free speech or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. However, there is no constitutional
Civil Harassment Restraining Orders differ from Family Law Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in that the person harassing is not for people who have dated or who are closely related. A person may seek protection if you are worried about your safety because you are being: • stalked • harassed • sexually assaulted • threatened by someone you do not have a close relationship with, like a neighbor or roommate.
Under California law (CCP 527.6), a person who has suffered harassment may seek a temporary restraining order and an injunction prohibiting harassment. Civil Harassment Restraining Orders differ from Family Law Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in that the person doing the harassing has no close family or domestic relationship with the victim. For example, a Civil Harassment Restraining Order would apply to a neighbor, roommate or stranger. A Family Law Domestic Violence Restraining Order would apply to an estranged husband or wife, or ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend or other relative. You may seek protection if you are worried about your safety because you are being: • stalked, • threatened, • harassed, or • sexually assaulted. Pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure 527.6(b), the course of conduct must be such as would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress and must actually cause substantial emotional distress to the victim. The restraining order
