Restraining Orders

A temporary restraining order may:

• order the abuser to stop committing acts of domestic abuse against you;
• order the abuser to stay away from your residence, or any other location you are temporarily occupying, or both. Note: If you and the abuser are unmarried and the abuser owns the home where you are both living (and you do not have any legal interest in that property), the judge may order the abuser to stay away from the property until you have a chance to move;
• order the abuser to avoid contacting you directly or through a third party, with the exception of the abuser’s attorney and any law enforcement officer;
• order the abuser not to remove, hide, damage, harm, mistreat, or dispose of, a household pet;
• order the abuser to allow you or your family member or household member acting on your behalf to retrieve (get) a household pet; and
• grant other relief that you request, if the judge finds the relief is necessary for your protection.¹

A final domestic abuse injunction may:

• include all of the protections listed above; and
• order a wireless telephone provider to transfer the right to use your telephone number to you and transfer your account, including the responsibility to pay the bills, to you.²

If a judge grants you a final domestic abuse injunction, s/he must order the abuser to hand over any firearms in his/her possession to the authorities and forbid him/her from buying firearms unless the abuser is a peace officer and is required to possess a gun as a condition of his/her job.²

Note: For more information about federal and state gun laws and exceptions, see our WI State Gun Laws page and our Federal Gun Laws page.

Whether a judge or court commissioner orders any or all of the above depends on the facts of your case.

¹ Wis. Stat. § 813.12(3)(a), (3)(am)
² Wis. Stat. § 813.12(4)(a), (4)(am), (4g), (4m)(a)(2), (4m)(ag)