Criminal Contempt of a PFA Order

If someone gets entangled in domestic violence charges, then their world can get upside down. The accusation of domestic violence is very serious. And it can have a long-term effect on the person’s life. If you are charged with domestic violence, it will encompass different areas of law including family law as well as criminal law. The most common aspect of a domestic violence case is that the defendant will get the court order of protection from abuse against them.

If you have been notified that you are charged with domestic violence and a PFA order has been issued against you, then right now you are in a deep mess. You need the right kind of legal assistance during this time. Thus, you need to get in touch with us at Logue Law Group. Our Pittsburgh PFA lawyer will represent you in court and ensure that you get the rightful justice.

A PFA order gets issued when this is a case of domestic violence and the plaintiff is in immediate danger due to domestic violence. There are three types of PFA orders. The first one is emergency PFA order. As the name suggests, this is an order that has been issued in the case of emergency. If the plaintiff is in imminent danger, they can file for emergency PFA order. This will be issued by the on-call judge. It is the judge’s discretion that will determine if the plaintiff is actually at risk or not. The defendant against whom the order is issued doesn’t get to offer any input. This order of PFA is temporary in nature. There is another type of temporary PFA order that can be issued against the defendant. This is named ex parte PFA order. For this, the plaintiff will have to go to court and the judge will issue the order depending on the evidence. The defendant doesn’t get to give any input in this matter too. In both cases, the defendant gets notified by the court.

The last type of PFA is the final PFA order. For this, the plaintiff and the defendant will have to be present in front of the judge. This is where the defendant can produce arguments and evidence to fight the PFA order. In this stage, our Pittsburgh PFA lawyer will fight aggressively for you and ensure the rightful justice. Even if the judge issues PFA, the defendant gets to give inputs for the provisions and terms.

Violating the term laid out by the PFA order is a criminal offense. If even you as the defendant violate the terms inadvertently, you might face criminal charges for this. In the case of violation, you will get six months of jail time and $1000 fines. You will have a record of being guilty in court. If you are facing domestic violence charges, this will add up to that.

At Logue Law Group, we have dealt with many cases involving PFA orders. Our Pittsburgh PFA lawyer is here to help you. Call us today and get a free consultation.