Dear johan16-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.
?Given these prohibitions, am I prohibited from filing a suit in small
claims court and having this person served with a summons via the
county sheriff's department??
Yes, at this time you are prohibited from filing a suit in small
claims court and having this person served with a summons via the
county sheriff's department.
Having served in the law enforcement community myself most of my life
I can tell you with certainly that while the restraining order is in
effect, you cannot legally violate any of the provisions set forth in
the restraining order or you will subject yourself to potential fines,
potential imprisonment and this could likely result in a longer and
more severe permanent restraining order against you. In fact, to do so
now may even preclude you from EVER filing a small claims suit against
the other party because if you are found in violation and the
restraining order is extended beyond the statute of limitations, your
case will be out he window, won?t it? See what I mean?
This is not legal advice, or even a suggestion, but a matter of
published law: What you ?can? do however, is learn to play your cards
right ? You may choose to contest the restraining order and seek to
have it lifted or seek a modification of the order so you may proceed
with your civil suit. Ultimately, this (sample of a blank order) is
what you will be given concerning the courts decision to lift or
modify the order (or to keep it the same as it now stands). Obviously
your order would be filled out, signed by a Judge and checked at the
appropriate decision accordingly. What you would hope to get is a
modification allowing you to bring a civil suit against the other
party or to have the order lifted and set aside entirely. You will
need this in hand BEFORE you can file your suit:
STATE OF OREGON
http://www.ojd.state.or.us/web/OJDPublications.nsf/Files/ORDER-L2S99001.pdf/$File/ORDER-L2S99001.pdf
Until you have such a lift or modification in hand, you are to abide
by the rules of the restraining order for as long as the order is in
effect. Some restraining orders are intended for these very purposes,
to prevent a person from conveying messages through other parties,
from using the judicial system as a means to seek revenge or from
filing frivolous lawsuits in an effort to ?get back? at or harass
another. Certainly I am in no way suggesting that this is what YOU are
doing in THIS case, since I don?t even know you or even any of the
details surrounding your matter, but I?m sure you can see where a few
people might take advantage of these options and exploit them for
their own misdirected gain.
As always, we mention that we cannot give legal advice in this forum
and it is always good practice to seek the advice of an attorney
before entering into a legal matter. Because of the sensitive nature
of a restraining order and the added fact that you are being deprived
of a conflicting legal right that is otherwise yours to exercise by
the restrictions imposed by the order, I strongly recommend that you
seek legal counsel before proceed. There are often many legal avenues
at your disposal to pursue something the ?right way? but if the court
ever finds that you are in the wrong against it?s order you may not
only be at peril of suffering the consequences but you may also find
that your other interests have suddenly (and permanently) become
unattainable as well. Do it right: be patient, seek legal guidance,
and protect your interests with written approval from the court or
forget about it altogether.
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
FINDLAW:
?HOW RESTRAINING ORDERS WORK?
http://criminal.findlaw.com/articles/1630.html
RESTRAINING ORDERS
?Oregon Revised Statute - ORS 107.718?
http://www.a2zgorge.info/prevention/VP-OregonLaw/ORS%20107.718%20Restraining%20Orders.htm
LEGAL MATCH:
RESTRAINING ORDERS
http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/restraining-orders.html
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Oregon restraining order
Contest restraining order
Lift restraining order
Modify restraining order |
