How to Drop a Restraining Order in New Jersey

Restraining Order Lawyers with offices in Morristown, NJ

How to dismiss a restraining order NJ

Once a temporary restraining order (known as a “TRO”) is issued, it’s not so easy to dismiss it. It requires going to court, meeting with a domestic violence counselor, filling out paperwork, and then putting the dismissal on the record in court in front of a judge. A restraining order is a civil matter that is handled in the Family Division in the county in which the domestic violence occurred or in which the parties reside. So, if you live in Fort Lee and you obtained a restraining order after a domestic violence incident occurred, you must appear in the Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, NJ to litigate the matter.

If you or a loved one is in need of assistance with a domestic violence case in New Jersey, the NJ restraining order lawyers at the Tormey Law Firm LLC can help. Our attorneys have literally handled hundreds of restraining order trials throughout NJ including in Morris County, Passaic County, Essex County, Bergen County, and Hudson County NJ. Our managing partner, Travis J. Tormey, has been recognized as a domestic violence resource and has been cited in numerous newspapers and appeared on CBS radio to speak as a legal scholar on domestic violence. For more information, contact our offices anytime for a free initial consultation at (908)-336-5008.

I want to Dismiss a Restraining Order in New Jersey

It is important to first understand if you are talking about a restraining order that was issued in the Family Division of Superior Court or you are talking about a “no contact” order that was issued as a condition of bail in a criminal matter. These are two very different things. If a “no contact order” was issued after a criminal charge was filed against your significant other and you would like that “no contact order” dropped, you need to address that in criminal court and with the prosecutor’s office who is handling that case (either a county prosecutor’s office or a municipal prosecutor) and the criminal court Judge. Typically, you must speak to a detective or assistant prosecutor (if it’s a felony case) and ask them to amend the bail conditions and lift the “no contact order”. If it’s a disorderly persons case which is handled in Municipal Court, you must usually appear in Municipal Court and ask the Judge to remove the “no contact order”. Until this is done, the no contact order remains in place and a defendant is in violation of their bail conditions and can be taken to jail if they have contact with the alleged victim.

Now, if you have obtained a restraining order then it is a very different process entirely. After the temporary restraining order (TRO) is issued, the case will be scheduled for a final restraining order (FRO) hearing or trial within 10 days of the issuance of the restraining order. If you want to dismiss the restraining order that you obtained, then you must appear at that hearing and tell the court you want to dismiss it. At that point, the judge will direct you to speak to a domestic violence counselor who will explain the cycle of domestic violence to you and make sure you understand your options. You must then sign paperwork acknowledging that you’ve spoken to a domestic violence counselor and that the cycle of domestic violence has been explained to you. You must also sign something saying that you want to dismiss the restraining order and you are doing so freely and voluntarily. And that no one has forced you or threatened you to dismiss the case. Then, you will appear again in court before the judge who will confirm that you want to dismiss the case and place it all on the record in court. Finally, the judge will then dismiss the restraining order. The court will issue a dismissal order and both parties will receive a copy of it. Then, all of the temporary restraints are removed and the parties are free to have contact, the defendant can return to the residence if they live together, etc.

If you have a final or permanent restraining order and you want to dismiss it, it is essentially the same process as above. However, you won’t have a pending court date so you must go to court and ask them to dismiss the old restraining order. They will then put you through the same process to make sure you are doing so voluntarily and to place the dismissal on the record in court.

NOTE: If you want to dismiss a restraining order but you would like to have some protection still in place, you can potentially enter into a civil restraints agreement with the other party which will detail how the parties will have contact moving forward (if any), as well as can address other issues such as the division of property, visitation with children, etc.

Help to Dismiss a Restraining Order I filed in NJ? Contact us today

For more information on dismissing or dropping a restraining order in NJ, contact our domestic violence lawyers for a free consultation at (908)-336-5008.