A civil stalking injunction is an order issued by the court to protect an individual from stalking behavior by ordering a stalker to disengage in stalking behaviors. These orders can include restrictions on contract, electronic communications, and a strict distance barrier.
Stalking involves intentionally or knowingly engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of someone else, or suffer other emotional distress.
If you are unsure whether you are the victim of “stalking” and eligible for a civil stalking injunction, think about whether or not you are being followed, monitored, observed, photographed, surveilled, threatened, or your personal property has been interfered with by means of technological devices. If your stalker has engaged in the above behavior on two or more occasions, which can reasonably cause emotional harm or fear for one’s safety, you may want to obtain a Civil Stalking Injunction.
The Court is aware that stalking situations have the ability to escalate quickly, accordingly they do not require a filing fee for this type of request. A stalking injunction is obtained by first filing a Petition that includes evidence and details the alleged stalking behavior.
When filing a Petition for Civil Stalking Injunction, you will want to provide evidence of the stalking such as:
- Police Reports
- Statement from Witnesses
- Audio or Video Tapes
- Photos
- Letters
At the commencement of filing a request, the Judge will review your request in a timely manner and grant or deny the request. If the request is granted, the opposing party will have ten (10) days to request a hearing, if no hearing is requested a Civil Stalking Injunction will be entered for a period of three (3) years.