What Do I Need To Prove To Get An Order Of Protection In Illinois?

Illinois courts are happy to grant orders of protection. Orders of protection prevent possible tragedies with little harm to the parties who are subject to the order of protection. Orders of protection simply prevent a party from doing something that may lead to some kind of future abuse of another party. “An order of protection is an injunctive order because it directs a person to refrain from doing something, such as to refrain from entering or residing where he or she lived before the order was entered.” In re Marriage of Padilla, 2017 IL App (1st) 170215, ¶ 17 Still, the courts must be presented with sufficient evidence in order to issue an order of protection. “Although the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is to be construed liberally to protect victims of domestic violence, help them avoid further abuse, and to expand the remedies for victims of domestic violence including, when necessary, physical separation of the parties there must be some evidence in the record to support the relief requested.” In re Marriage of Healy, 635 NE 2d 666 – Ill: Appellate Court, 1st Dist., 2nd Div. 1994 (citations and quotations omitted)(emphasis mine) What must be proven in order for an Illinois court to grant an order of protection? When determining whether an order of protection should be issued an Illinois court’s “central inquiry is whether the petitioner [or the minor child] has been abused.” Best v. Best, 223 Ill. 2d 342, 348 (2006) “If the court finds that petitioner has been abused by a family or household member…an order of protection prohibiting the abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall issue” 750 ILCS 60/214 There needs to be a finding by the court that the petitioner was “abused by a family or household member” for an order of protection to issue. Abuse has 4 different possible forms in an Illinois Petition For Order Of Protection. “’Abuse’ means physical abuse, harassment, intimidation of a dependent, interference with personal liberty or willful deprivation” 750 ILCS 60/103(1) Harassment, intimidation, interference with personal liberty, each have their own definition. “Harassment” means knowing conduct which is not necessary to accomplish a purpose that is reasonable under the circumstances; would cause a reasonable person emotional distress; and does cause emotional distress to the petitioner. Unless the presumption is rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence, the following types of conduct shall be presumed to cause emotional […]

from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/what-do-i-need-to-prove-to-get-an-order-of-protection-in-illinois/