Restraining Orders

After you fill out and hand all of the necessary forms to the clerk, s/he will deliver them to the judge.

The judge may want to ask you some questions about your application. If you meet the requirements for an ex parte protection order, the order will be valid until the date of the court hearing, scheduled for within 20 days.¹

If the judge does not grant you an ex parte protection order, s/he can still set a date for a hearing for a permanent protection order. The court will notify the parties of a court date for within a maximum of 5 days.² The hearing will be before a judge, and both you and the abuser will have the opportunity to tell your side of the story and to have an attorney present to represent you. At the end of the hearing, the judge will decide whether to grant the protection order or not.

¹ See 8 L.P.R.A. § 625
² See 8 L.P.R.A. § 624(a)