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Which order applies to your situation, how the process works, and what a court can do.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-7233, by text to 88788, or by chat at thehotline.org. A court order is a legal step, not an emergency response.
Maryland has two separate orders for someone who needs to be protected from another person. Which one applies depends entirely on your relationship to that person, and filing for the wrong one costs time you may not have.
For people in a domestic or family relationship with the person they need protection from. Maryland calls these people a “person eligible for relief,” and the category includes:
A protective order can be filed in either the District Court or the Circuit Court, there is no filing fee, and there is no deadline: you can file at any time after the abuse occurs.
For everyone else. A neighbor, a coworker, a dating partner who does not meet the categories above, a stranger. An employer can also file on behalf of an employee who has been threatened at work.
Peace orders are filed in the District Court only, there are filing and service fees, which can be waived for someone unable to afford them, and there is a hard deadline: the petition must be filed within 30 days of the act you are complaining about. Missing that window closes the door.
These cases move in steps, and each step has a different judge, a different standard and a different lifespan.
Issued by a District Court commissioner when the courts are closed, for example at night or over a weekend. It lasts only until the court can hold a temporary hearing, normally the next day the court is open.
Issued by a judge after hearing from the petitioner alone. For a protective order it generally lasts up to seven days, and a court can extend it up to six months where needed to effect service. For a peace order it likewise runs up to seven days, extendable to 30 days.
Entered after a hearing where both sides appear and present evidence. This is the hearing that decides the case, and it is the one to prepare for properly.
At a final protective order hearing the judge must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged abuse occurred, meaning more likely than not. A respondent can also consent to the order being entered without that finding.
That standard is lower than the criminal standard, which is one reason a protective order case can succeed where a criminal charge did not, and it is also why the specifics matter: dates, messages, photographs, medical or police records, and witnesses do the work. Characterizations do not.
A final protective order can do considerably more than tell someone to stay away. A judge may:
Because a protective order can set temporary custody and support, it frequently runs alongside a divorce or custody case. The two interact, and decisions made in one affect the other. See legal custody, emergency custody and temporary orders.
A final protective order is not a private matter. It is entered into a statewide database, it can require you to surrender firearms, it can remove you from your home, and it can affect employment, professional licensing and security clearances. Consenting to an order “to make this go away” carries consequences that outlast the order itself.
Both sides of these cases deserve preparation. If you have been served with a petition, the temporary order is not the end of the matter, and the final hearing is where the evidence is actually tested.
The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC offers a free consultation. Call (410) 847-9075 or request a consultation online. The office is at 1107 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 305, Towson, MD 21204.
This page provides general information about Maryland law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes, and how it applies depends on the facts of your situation.