LegalAtoms to support renewals
LegalAtoms now supports renewals of Civil Protection Order and meets the needs of all users: clients, court and law enforcement. Renewals do not apply to Extreme Risk Protection Order but are valid for all other civil protection orders which are:
- Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO)
- Sexual Assault Protection Order (SAPO)
- Stalking Protection Order (SPO)
- Antiharassment Protection (AHPO)
- Vulnerable Adult Protection Order (VAPO)
Civil Protection Order typically last a fixed period which is usually a year, and in many cases, require to be extended. The petitioner of the civil protection order can apply for a renewal up to 90 days prior to the expiration of the order. A court may reject a petition filed too soon or after expiration. LegalAtoms software however will not be limiting the users based on the timing and let the courts decide whether to accept or reject a request.
Renewals are relatively simple to get and are completely free. There is a hearing scheduled, and unlike when the CPO was issued first, there is no burden on the petitioner to build a case. There is no limit on the number of times an order may be renewed.
There is a special case in case the hearing of the renewal is scheduled by the court after the order expires. This could leave a window of time when the order is no longer is in effect and leaves the protected party without protections. In such a situation, the court issues an immediate extension of the order up to to the hearing, and this is issued in the form Order Setting Hearing on renewals, under paragraph 3
LegalAtoms keeps the original protection order case and the renewals as two separate case instances. It does automatically link them based on the Court Case number entered by the user. From a flow perspective, first the clerk accepts or rejects then at the hearing, the judge denies or grants a temporary order using Order Setting Hearing on Renewals and Extending Order form. In case of grant, then there is always hearing. Just like the initial CPO case, the hearing requires servicing via Law Enforcement which in turn require the Law Enforcement Packet and the subsequent Proof of Service,
The relevant forms prescribed by the Washington Courts are: