By Leisa Wintz, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 64399 · Family Matters Law Group, P.A.
I watched the new documentary about the Hooters murders, and much of it takes place right here in Florida. One segment stuck with me. A young woman was being stalked by a regular customer. He emailed her, harassed her and followed her. She went to court for a restraining order and brought pages and pages of messages as proof. The judge denied it, and everyone on the show was outraged.
I understand the outrage. But as a family lawyer, I saw something the show didn’t explain. According to the documentary, she filed for a domestic violence injunction. She was being stalked by a customer, not a family or household member. A judge can’t grant relief you didn’t ask for, and a domestic violence injunction has requirements a stranger stalking you doesn’t meet.
Her story is a tragedy, and nothing here is meant to second-guess her. It’s meant to make sure the next person who walks into a Florida courthouse asks for the right thing.
Why do restraining orders get denied even with lots of evidence?
Often it isn’t the evidence. It’s the petition. In Florida, a “restraining order” is legally an injunction for protection, and there are five different kinds. Each one has its own required elements. If the facts you prove don’t match the type of injunction you asked for, the judge has no legal basis to grant it, no matter how frightening the facts are or how many pages you bring.
What are the five types of injunctions in Florida?
1. Domestic violence. For violence or threats by a family or household member: a spouse or former spouse, a relative by blood or marriage, someone you live or lived with as a family, or the other parent of your child.
2. Dating violence. For violence by someone you have or had a continuing and significant romantic or intimate relationship with, within the past six months. A casual acquaintance doesn’t count.
3. Repeat violence. For two incidents of violence or stalking by the same person, with at least one in the last six months, directed at you or your immediate family. No relationship is required.
4. Sexual violence. For victims of a sexual violence offense, such as sexual battery. No relationship is required.
5. Stalking. For someone who willfully, maliciously and repeatedly follows, harasses or cyberstalks you. No relationship is required, and no physical violence has to have happened yet.
Why does the relationship matter so much?
Because the relationship is the first fork in the road. Domestic violence and dating violence injunctions are built for people with a family, household or romantic connection. If the person scaring you is a customer, a coworker, a neighbor, an online stranger or someone you went on two dates with, those two petitions usually won’t fit. Stalking, repeat violence or sexual violence may.
Ask yourself first: What is my relationship to this person? Then ask: What did they do, and how many times? Those two answers point you to the right petition.
Didn’t Florida always have a stalking injunction?
No, and that matters for understanding older cases. According to a 2012 Florida Senate bill analysis, Florida had no standalone injunction against stalking before 2012. Stalking victims had to fit their case into the domestic violence or repeat violence statutes, and both had requirements that many stalking victims couldn’t meet. Today, a stalking injunction is available without proving any relationship or any physical injury.
How do I choose the right petition?
Start with the relationship, then the conduct:
- Family or household member? Look at domestic violence.
- Current or recent romantic partner (within six months)? Look at dating violence.
- No relationship, and a pattern of following, harassing or cyberstalking? Look at stalking.
- No relationship, and two or more incidents of violence or stalking? Look at repeat violence.
- A sexual violence offense? Look at sexual violence.
Sometimes more than one could fit. That’s a good time to talk to a lawyer or a court advocate before you file, because the petition you choose frames everything that happens next.
What should my petition include?
The judge often decides whether to issue a temporary injunction based on the petition alone, before the other side is ever heard. So the petition has to stand on its own:
- Specific incidents, with dates. “On March 3 he waited by my car after my shift” beats “he follows me all the time.”
- Why you’re afraid. Explain what makes you fear for your safety.
- The relationship, stated clearly, so it matches the petition type.
- Attach key evidence, organized and labeled. Pick the strongest examples rather than every page.
If the temporary injunction is denied, the judge may still set a full hearing. At that hearing, your evidence has to be properly admitted to count. Filing it isn’t enough. (See our post: Your Exhibit List Is Not Evidence.)
What if I’m in danger right now?
Call 911. You can also reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. Many Florida clerk’s offices have an injunction or domestic violence intake office that can help you with the forms, and in most cases there’s no filing fee for these petitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a restraining order against someone I’ve never dated? Yes. Stalking, repeat violence and sexual violence injunctions don’t require any relationship.
What’s the difference between a protective order and an injunction in Florida? In everyday conversation they mean the same thing. Florida law calls them injunctions for protection.
If my petition is denied, can I file again? Often yes, especially if you filed the wrong type or new incidents happen. Get advice on the right petition before you refile.
Do I need a lawyer to file? No, but the choice of petition and the hearing are where people most often get tripped up. Even one strategy session can make sure you’re asking for the right thing.
Does the other person get notice? A temporary injunction can be issued without notice, but the other person is served and has the right to be heard at the full hearing.
Ready for the Next Step?
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Bottom Line
The right evidence in the wrong petition can still be denied. Before you file, match the injunction to your relationship with the other person and what they did. Then build the petition, and the hearing, so a judge can actually grant it.
This post is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.