1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff from how Stuff Works dot com where 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: smart Happens. Hi, I'm Marshall Brain with today's question, what 3 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: is a restraining order and how do you get one? 4 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: In the past few days, the words restraining order have 5 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: popped into the news several times. In one story, actor 6 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: Edward Furlong, most recently of green Hornet fame, was taken 7 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: to jail for violating a restraining order. A college basketball 8 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,480 Speaker 1: player is facing possible jail time for violating his restraining order. 9 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: As well his crime, he put a post on Facebook. 10 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: You wouldn't think that a Facebook post would be something 11 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: that could get you in jail, but in the world 12 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: of restraining orders, it can actually be a serious offense. 13 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: So let's look at how these things work. Imagine that 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: you're in a relationship with someone. It might be a 15 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: romantic relationship and employment relationship, a rental relationship, a neighborly relationship, 16 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: or whatever, but the two of you have a falling out. 17 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: In most cases, the two parties go their separate ways 18 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: and that's the end of it. But sometimes, for whatever reason, 19 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: one of the parties will not let go or will 20 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: start a campaign of harassment. It is in these situations 21 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: that restraining orders come into play. Sometimes there's not even 22 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: a relationship involved. A celebrity might feel threatened by the 23 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: behavior of a member of the paparazzi, or a public 24 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: official might be worried about someone who begins stocking him. 25 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: Restraining orders can also be helpful in these situations. Involving strangers, 26 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: a restraining order is a legal document, usually issued by 27 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: a court that tells one person to stay away from 28 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: another person or entity. The orders come in different flavors, 29 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 1: depending on the court and the situation. A restraining order 30 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: might specify a specific distance that one person must keep 31 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: away from another, or a restraining order might specify that 32 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: all forms of contact or forbidden. This is how a 33 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 1: Facebook post can actually become a crime. A restraining order 34 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: might also go so far as to require the restrained 35 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: party to take a class or surrender guns and ammunition. 36 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: The most common reason for getting a restraining order involves 37 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: some sort of domestic dispute. It's thought that more than 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: a million restraining orders of this type are issued in 39 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 1: the United States each year. A person who has been 40 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: the recipient of domestic violence or some other unwelcome behavior 41 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: files a request for a restraining order. Typically, this is 42 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: done by going to the court house, filling out forms 43 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: and paying a filing fee. What happens next varies from 44 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 1: state to state. The filer may be issued what's called 45 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: a temporary restraining order and then a hearing day to 46 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 1: set in court so that a judge can decide if 47 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: a permanent restraining order is appropriate. A permanent restraining order 48 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: will have a term like one or two years. In 49 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: North Carolina, where I live. The two most common types 50 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: of restraining orders are the domestic violence protective order and 51 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: the civil no contact order. The former applies to family 52 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: and relationship situations, in the latter to most other issues. 53 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: So for example, if you and your spouse getting an 54 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: argument and your spouse starts beating you, a domestic violence 55 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: protective order would protect you from further violence. On the 56 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: other hand, if a coworker is intimidating you or assaults you, 57 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: a civil no contact order may be appropriate. Once you 58 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: have a restraining order, the question of enforcement becomes important. 59 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: A restraining order is enforced by calling the authorities when 60 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: the order is violated. States vary in their response, but 61 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,119 Speaker 1: in many cases, a person who intentionally violates a restraining 62 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: order will be arrested, as seen in the case of 63 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: the rogue Facebook post. Even seemingly small violations an email 64 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: or a Facebook message, or send anything similar to that 65 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: can have serious repercussions when they violate a court issued 66 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: restraining order. Therefore, if you are the one being restrained 67 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: by a restraining order, the only rational response is to 68 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: make sure you follow the court's instructions in that order 69 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: to the letter. 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