Injunctions for Protection Attorneys
Being served with a Florida injunction for protection puts your gun rights, your housing, your children, and your ability to defend the case all on a short clock. Our defense attorneys represent respondents in stalking, repeat-violence, domestic-violence, and sexual-violence injunctions across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida.
A Florida injunction for protection (commonly called a "restraining order") is a civil order with criminal consequences. The temporary order is usually entered ex parte, without you in the room. The final hearing is usually scheduled within 15 days. By the time you've been served, the clock is already running on your right to carry a firearm, stay in your home, see your children, and contact the other party. Our attorneys defend respondents in injunction cases across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida. Call us at (386) 255-1400 to talk through what's coming next.
The five types of Florida injunctions
Florida law authorizes five distinct types of civil injunctions for protection, each with its own elements and burden of proof. Knowing which one has been filed against you matters, because the defense is different in each.
Domestic violence
Fla. Stat. § 741.30. Requires a family or household relationship and either actual violence or a reasonable fear of imminent violence.
Dating violence
Fla. Stat. § 784.046. Requires a dating relationship within the prior six months with continuing or significant intimate involvement, plus violence or a reasonable fear of imminent violence.
Repeat violence
Fla. Stat. § 784.046. Requires two incidents of violence or stalking against the petitioner, one within the prior six months.
Stalking & cyberstalking
Fla. Stat. § 784.0485. Filed over text messages, social media activity, or repeated contact the petitioner says caused substantial emotional distress.
Sexual violence
Fla. Stat. § 784.046. Covers sexual battery, lewd or lascivious acts, luring a child, and felonies with a sexual component.
What an injunction actually does to your life
People often think of an injunction as a "stay away" letter. The reality is much broader. A final order can:
- Force you out of a residence you share with the petitioner
- Suspend your right to possess firearms or ammunition under federal law
- Restrict contact with your own children if they're listed as protected
- Land in background checks reviewed by employers, landlords, and licensing boards
- Convert any future contact (text, call, indirect message) into a criminal offense
Final injunctions in Florida do not have a built-in expiration date. They stay in place until a court modifies or dissolves them, which usually requires the respondent to file the motion and meet the burden.
Why representing yourself rarely goes well
Petitioners often file injunction cases pro se with help from a clerk or a victim advocate. Respondents who show up to a final hearing without counsel are at a real disadvantage. The rules of evidence apply. The cross-examination on hearsay, on prior incidents, on the timeline that turns ordinary contact into "stalking" is not something most people can do for themselves while the case is about them.
We also see injunctions filed strategically, especially during contested divorces and custody fights. A domestic-violence petition that wins a temporary order can shift exclusive use of the home, paid parenting time, and possession of the firearms in the house. Getting in front of that before the final hearing is critical.
Injunctions sit at the line between family and criminal court
A Florida injunction is technically a civil order, but the consequences (firearms, housing, custody, future criminal exposure) cross into territory most family lawyers don't handle and most criminal lawyers don't follow. Our firm sits on both sides of that line. When the injunction is part of a larger divorce or custody case, we can defend the injunction and stay coordinated with the underlying family law strategy at the same time.
Served with an injunction? Don't go to the hearing alone.
From stalking and repeat violence to domestic and sexual violence injunctions, our defense attorneys represent respondents across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida.
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