Fill and Sign the Instructions to Renew Restraining Order Oregon Form

FAMILY ABUSE PREVENTION ACT INSTRUCTIONS TO RENEW (CONTINUE) A RESTRAINING ORDER I. INTRODUCTION This packet contains instructions for a petitioner to ask the court to renew (continue) a Restraining Order under the Family Abuse Prevention Act for another year. Please read all of t he instructions before you start to fill out the forms. You must file your forms wit h t he court clerk in the county in which the restraining order was originally granted. If you have any questions about how the law works or what it means, you may need to see a lawyer. The court clerk cannot give you any legal advice. If you need legal assistance, you may call the Oregon State Bar's Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-452-7636 or Legal Aid at (503) 581-5265 if you believe you can’t afford a lawyer. If you intend to complete the forms by hand, you should use a black ink pen (blue does not show up well on copies) and print; do not write. II. OUTLINE OF PROCEDURES AND GENERAL INFORMATION A. Who Files Only the petitioner (the person who asked for the Restraining Order) may ask the court to renew the Restraining Order. The petitioner may ask the court to renew even if there are no new facts or new abuse since the original Order. B. When to File You will need to file the necessary forms with the court sometime before the original order ends. Remember, the original Restraining Order is effective for one year (365 days) after the judge signed it. If you want to renew the Order, you should file your request at least one or two weeks before the end of that year period. If you file too early, the court might tell you to wait to see if your situation changes. If you file too late and the original Order ends before the court can renew it, you may have to start over and petition for a new restraining order and prove that abuse has reoccurred within the last six months. C. Forms The following six forms are available from the court clerk. The first four are those you will need to renew the Order, and are attached to these instructions. * Petitioner’s Motion, Affidavit and Order Renewing Family Abuse Prevention Act Restraining Order * Relevant Data Form * Notice to Respondent * Petitioner’s Certificate of Document Preparation The other two forms are available at the information window and are optional. The waiver of personal service allows you to ask the court to waive personal service if you are later charged with contempt for not providing truthful information to the court. The affidavit of proof of service only needs to be filled out if you have someone other than the sheriff serve respondent. * Petitioner’s Waiver of Personal Service * Affidavit of Proof of Service III. FILLING OUT THE FORMS A. Motion, Affidavit and Order. This form contains your request to renew (continue) the Restraining Order based on facts you give in your sworn statement. The court may renew the Restraining Order if it finds t hat you have a reasonable fear that respondent will commit further acts of abuse against you unless the order is renewed. You may need a copy of your original Restraining Order. If you do not have a copy, the court clerk can assist you in getting the information you need from the original order. 1. Page 1. a. Caption (Heading at top of form) i. Fill in your name as petitioner just as it appeared in the original Order. ii. Fill in the case number as it appeared in the original Order. iii. Fill in the respondent's name as it appeared in the original Order. b. Line 15. Enter the date the original Restraining Order was signed. c. Line 19. Print your name in the line where it says "I, ________, swear/affirm..." Complete the remainder of page 1 as it applies to you. 2. Page 2. a. DO NOT SIGN THE FORM UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED FILLING IT OUT AND YOU ARE IN FRONT OF A NOTARY PUBLIC OR THE COURT'S CLERK SO YOUR SIGNATURE CAN BE WITNESSED. b. Print your name, address and telephone number. You may use a contact address if you wish to keep your address confidential. Do not complete any other part of page 2, except for the “Submitted by” portion at the bottom. Print your name on the line and check the space in front of Petitioner. B. Relevant Data form. Include as much information about the Respondent (the person who is ordered to stay away from you) as you can. This information helps the sheriff identify the respondent when the sheriff serves the order and helps police officers identify both you and the respondent when they enforce the order. You can also attach a photograph of the respondent to help the sheriff identify the respondent. You may use a contact address and telephone number if you need to keep your residential address and telephone number confidential. C. Notice to Respondent. The purpose of the “Notice to Respondent” form is to give the respondent important information about the Restraining Order. This form must be attached to the copy of the Restraining Order served on the respondent. Complete only the petitioner, and respondent name and DOB portion in the case caption of page one. D. Certificate of Document Preparation. Fill out the case caption, check the statement s that apply t o you, fill in the date, and fill in the lines below the date. IV. FILING YOUR PAPERS WITH THE COURT A. Signing Once you have filled out the papers, go to the information window and ask the clerk to "acknowledge" (notarize) your signature on the Motion, Affidavit and Order. (You will be asked to present picture identification such as a drivers license or Oregon identification card.) If you mail your papers to the court or have someone else file them for you, be sure that you have the Motion, Affidavit and Order notarized. B. Copies The clerk will make the necessary number of certified true copies of the papers at no charge. V. SERVING THE RESPONDENT If the court grants a Restraining Order, a true copy of the Motion, Affidavit and Order and the Notice to Respondent must be "served on" (personally delivered to) the respondent to inform the respondent that the Restraining Order exists (it tells the person what the court has ordered). The clerk will send papers to the sheriff’s office, who will serve the papers for free unless you choose to pay a private process server to have the respondent served. If the sheriff's office serves the papers, that office will file a proof of service form with the court. You, the petitioner, cannot serve the respondent If the sheriff cannot serve the respondent within ten days, you will be notified by mail. You then have ten days to give the sheriff's office additional information to help the sheriff find and serve the respondent. If you do not respond, the sheriff will send the papers to the court and file a return with the court clerk showing that service was not completed. Service can be completed by someone other than the sheriff. Any person (except yourself, your attorney, or your employee) who is mentally competent, 18 years of age or older, and a resident of the state of service may serve the papers. If you have someone other than the sheriff serve the papers, be sure that: (1) the person who served the respondent completes the "Affidavit of Proof of Service" and signs it only in front of a notary public or the court clerk; (2) the notary public notarizes or court clerk "acknowledges" the signature of the person signing the affidavit; (3) the Affidavit of Proof of Service is filed with the court clerk; and (4) true copies of the Motion, Affidavit and Order are delivered to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office will then enter the information into the law enforcement data system. If you have a friend or other person serve the Order, that person should fill out the Affidavit of Proof of Service form after the person serves the Order on the respondent. VI. HEARING The respondent may ask for a hearing within 30 days of when he or she was served with the Order. If the respondent requests a hearing, the court clerk will send you a copy of the respondent’s hearing request and notify you of the date and time of the hearing. If the respondent does not appear, the Restraining Order will most likely remain in effect. If you do not appear at the hearing, the Restraining Order may be canceled. VII. ENFORCEMENT OF THE RENEWED RESTRAINING ORDER Once renewed, the Restraining Order is effective for an additional year unless it is ended earlier by the court at your request or unless the court changes (modifies) it. Additionally, if and when a final decree or judgment in a dissolution, separation, annulment, or custody case involving unmarried parents is entered, any conflicting provisions in a preexisting Restraining Order are superseded (have no effect) if the two cases were consolidated and the non-moving party was given notice and opportunity to be heard on the custody and parenting time issue. The police must enforce the renewed Order in the same way they enforce the original Order. You can ask the district attorney to prosecute (bring legal charges against) the respondent for violating the renewed Order.