Litigating and Fighting False Accusations in Protection Orders. An Experienced Lawyer | Attorney’s Perspective
All six types of protection orders, Antiharassment Protection Orders, Stalking Protection Orders, Domestic Violence Protection Orders, Sexual Assault Protection Orders, Vulnerable Adult Protection Orders and Extreme Risk Protection Orders were created to serve legitimate purposes; however, they are not always filed or used for legitimate reasons. Protection Orders can be filed out of anger, revenge, malice, mental health issues, litigation, drug problems, control, or just outright harassment. Parties, with and without the help of attorneys | lawyers, file protection orders bases on misstatements, exaggerations and false accusations to establish control in and out of the courtroom. Though we give general advice on how to Fight Protection Orders, when protection orders are predominately based on exaggeration and false accusations, it takes a lot more experience and work to prevail, and this must be done in a short time frame.
Understanding and Articulating “Why”.
The first and most important step in defending cases based on Misstatements, Exaggerations and False Accusations is knowing the “why”. Why would the other party do this? What critical questions expose or explain this? If your lawyer | attorney understands this, the rest of the case often falls into place. What motivates the other party? What facts are not distorted, which ones are? What is the whole story? How is a judge or third party likely to understand it? What evidence is available? How can it be gotten? How do you and your lawyer best lay out your case? What points are best made and what ones are best left unsaid.
As lawyers | attorneys, we have handled a lot of these kinds of accusations in the civil setting, so we know from experience that answering “why” requires your lawyer to take the time to listen to all the facts without judgment while asking critical questions. Thoroughly investigated and prepared cases tend to win more than cases that are not.
Remember that though you may know all the facts of your story the judge who will hear your case does not. When another party comes at you with false claims that are often inflammatory, getting out of the “accused” seat and into the “accuser” seat takes real effort and knowledge of the case. Knowing all the facts, even the ones that seem inconsequential at first, is essential to defeating false accusations. Lawyers | attorneys know, that in protection order cases … as the old expression goes, “the devil is in the details”.
Mounting a Defense to a False Accusation or Misrepresentation.
A complete and thorough investigation tracks down all the records of a case and allows your lawyer to build a case, attack the credibility of the other party and their witnesses and arrange your facts and witnesses into a credible story. We have seen strong accusations crumble under a thorough investigation and counter-presentation … we have also seen the court willing to engage in realignment of the parties (in Domestic Violence Protection Order and Antiharassment Protection Order proceedings, the court can, acting on its own power, “switch” the roles of the accuser and accused) based on a thorough presentation of the facts, light cross examination and argument. The key is to take the time to properly prepare and then know when to speak, when to wait and when to be aggressive. Cases are won and lost on facts but they can also be won and lost based on the quality of the lawyering. Do not be caught unaware.
Over the course of our lengthy legal careers, our lawyers | attorneys have litigated and fought a wide variety of complicated and emotionally tangled disputes, familial disputes, abuse, harassment and sexual behavior cases in the legal arena. Our office is a unique blend of courtroom experience, knowledge, skills and temperament. Our lawyers know cases are rarely as simple as police reports or accusations claim. Our clients hire us because they want trained listeners who are staunch, uncompromising and effective. They want counsel who takes the time to listen and fight vigorously for the right result. Whether acting in our role as counsel, advocate, negotiator or litigator, we have years of experience manipulating, working and fighting to resolve cases with our clients’ best interests in mind.
