English
EspañolWhat should I do when I leave the courthouse?
Here are some things you may want to consider doing after the judge gives you a protection order. However, you will have to evaluate each one to see if it works for your situation.
- Review the order before you leave the courthouse. If something is wrong or missing, ask the clerk to correct the order before you leave.
- Make several copies of the protection order as soon as possible.
- Keep a copy of the order with you at all times.
- Leave copies of the order at your work place, at your home, at the children’s school or daycare, in your car, with a sympathetic neighbor, and so on.
- Give a copy to the security guard or person at the front desk where you live or work.
- Give a copy of the order to anyone who is named in and protected by the order.
- If the court has not given you an extra copy for your local police, take one of your extra copies and deliver it to them.
- You may wish to consider changing your locks, if permitted by law, and your phone number.
You may also wish to make a safety plan. People can do a number of things to increase their safety during violent incidents, when preparing to leave an abusive relationship, and when they are at home, work, and school. Many abusers obey protection orders, but some do not and it is important to build on the things you have already been doing to keep yourself safe. Go to our Safety Planning page for more information.
What can I do if the abuser violates the order?
Through the Police or Sheriff (Criminal). If the abuser violates the protection order, you can call 911 to report it to law enforcement. Tell the officers you have a protection order and the abuser is violating it. Violation of an order can be a Class 1 misdemeanor or, if the violation involves an assault, a Class 6 felony.1 To see the other reasons that a violation of an order of protection can be a Class 6 felony or higher, read section 22-19A-16 on our Selected South Dakota Statutes page.
It is generally a good idea to write down the names of the responding officers and their badge numbers in case you want to follow up on your case. Also, make sure to ask the police to write a report on the incident even if the abuser is not arrested. This could be valuable legal documentation if you need to prove a violation of the order in the future. If the police do not arrest the abuser, you may be able to file a criminal complaint yourself. You can call your local police department or district court to get a complaint form.
Note: If the abuser is arrested for assault or stalking, s/he is not allowed to contact you or your family or household members either directly or through a third party until the first court appearance or until a judge allows that contact to happen.2
Through the Civil Court System (Civil). You may also file for civil contempt for a violation of the order. The abuser is in “civil contempt” if s/he does anything that your protection order tells him or her not to do. To file for civil contempt, go to the clerk’s office in the court that issued your order and ask for the petition.
For more information about contempt, including the difference between criminal contempt and civil contempt, go to our general Domestic Violence Restraining Orders page.
1 SDCL § 22-19A-16
2 SDCL § 22-19A-17
Can a protection order be changed?
You or the abuser can file a petition to change (modify) the final protection order.1 The judge will decide whether to schedule a hearing on the modification based on what is included in the petition. The person requesting the change must be prepared to present facts supporting the requested change at the hearing,2 and the other party can object to the change or agree to it.
1 SDCL § 22-19A-14; see also Motion to Modify Permanent Protection Order on the South Dakota Unified Judicial System website
2 Protection Orders at the South Dakota Legal Self-Help website
