Orders of protection often go hand in hand with domestic violence cases and sexual assault cases. Last week we successfully defended an order of protection petition based upon an alleged sexual assault. The petitioner appealed as was their right. It was dismissed again. During the process, I learned something new.
It seems after a dismissal is appealed, the magistrate enters a new order reinstating the ex parte order of protection. The court enters the new order of protection order based on the petition that was dismissed. I read most of the order of protection statute and did not find any authority for the court to reinstate the original order of protection. I hope this was just an error and not a systematic process.
The second order of protection update is it appears that all hearings on petitions for orders of protection are headed back to circuit court. When I first started my law practice, Judge Kurtz and Judge Haynes heard the orders of protection on Thursday afternoons. After a while, the state legislature granted Davidson County General Sessions Judges jurisdiction to hear order of protection cases. Now it seems the cases may be headed back to circuit court effective July 1, 2017.