Get an overview of civil protection orders, including what they cover, who can get one, and what happens if it is violated.
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You must go to court to get a permanent protection order (PPO). This is called an evidentiary hearing.
This guide explains:
- What an evidentiary hearing is
- What you have to do to prepare
- What may happen at the hearing
- What happens after the hearing
I already got a protection order - why do I have to go to court again?
There are two types of protection orders that you can get from the court.
- The first is the Temporary Protection Order. This is the type of protection order you get when you first ask for a protection order from the judge. Usually, you would have had a hearing with just you and the judge where you explained why you need a protection order. This order typically lasts two weeks or less.
- The second is a Permanent Protection Order. To make your Temporary Protection Order a Permanent Protection Order, you must go back to court for an evidentiary hearing. A permanent protection order is indefinite, meaning it does not have an end date.
- During the hearing you will need to prove to the court that something happened that caused you to need protection and that without a protection order you are at risk of further danger.
- During the hearing, the other person has a right to appear and try to prove that the protection order should not be made permanent.
Do I have to go to the hearing?
You will not be forced to go to the hearing. However, if you do not go to the hearing, the judge will dismiss the protection order. If you do not go to the hearing, you will lose your opportunity to be heard by the judge and your protection order will be dismissed.
What happens if the other person has not been served?
You should still go to court even if the other person has not been served. You can ask that the judge extend the protection order another two weeks so that you have more time to get the other person served.
What do I need to prepare before the hearing?
Step 1: Service
Before the hearing, you should do your best to make sure that the protection order is “served" (given to the other person in a specific way required by law) on the other person. In most cases, your local sheriff’s office will serve the protection order on the other person. If your case involves domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the sheriff may not charge you a fee to serve the other person. For more information, see How to Serve Court Papers.
It is your responsibility to make sure that the sheriff has a copy of your documents to give to the other person. You should share any information you have with the sheriff about how they can find the other person, including if that person has any upcoming court dates for other cases.
Once the sheriff has served the other person, they will either provide you or the court with JDF 98: Affidavit of Service. If they give you that document directly, you need to make sure you file it with the court before your hearing. You should bring a copy with you to the hearing to prove that the other person was served properly.
Step 2: Witnesses
It may be helpful to bring witnesses to your hearing with you. A witness is a person who directly saw something that will help the judge make his or her decision.
- For example, if your neighbor saw the other person hit you, your neighbor may be a good witness because they can tell the judge what they saw.
Before you go to your hearing, you should talk to the people who you want to be witnesses for you. They may voluntarily agree to come to court with you. If they are unwilling to come to court (or if their employer needs proof that they need to come to court to allow for time off), you may ask the court to issue a subpoena for the witness to appear in court.
A subpoena is an order from the court telling a person they must appear to provide testimony in a hearing. You must request your subpoena 48 hours before the date and time of your hearing. To request a subpoena:
- Fill out Form JDF 80.2.
- Fill out Form JDF 80.3.
- Bring both forms to the court clerk’s office. They will return these to you after they are signed.
- Next, you must serve the subpoena on your witness. Make sure they receive a copy of the subpoena and JDF 80.1.
- Once your witness is served, ask the person who served them to fill out JDF 98.
- Pay your witness any appropriate mileage reimbursement to come to court.
Prepare a few open-ended questions that you would like to ask your witnesses at the hearing. Discuss the substance of what you plan to ask them at the hearing. Do NOT tell them what to say or ask them to change their responses.
Examples of open-ended questions can include:
- What did you see Mr. X do to me?
- When did you see this happen?
- Where was I standing when this happened?
- How did I respond?
You will also be a witness at the hearing. You should plan on talking about what led you to file for a protection order and why you are afraid of harm from the other person. Be specific. Where you can, provide details (such as the date, time, and location) of incidents.
Step 3: Exhibits
Before your hearing, you should prepare any documents or pictures you want the court to look at. These are called exhibits. Exhibits can include:
- Pictures
- Written statements (such as police reports or medical records)
- Emails
- Screenshots of text messages
- Videos
- Audio recordings
If your exhibits are something that can be printed out, print 4 copies: 1 copy for the judge, 1 for the other person, 1 for the witness, and 1 for yourself. You should label them using a number for each document. (The other side should label their exhibits using letters.) Each copy should have the number written on it in the upper right hand corner.
If you plan to use an audio or video recording as an exhibit, you will need to talk with the court clerk to determine how they would like that submitted. You will likely need to provide the file in a format the court can keep (such as a USB thumb drive or a CD-ROM). Additionally, you will need to bring a device to court to play the recording. The court may require you to play the recording for the other party prior to the judge hearing or watching it.
What if I feel unsafe going to court?
Your safety at the courthouse is important. You may wish to connect to a survivor’s advocate and safety plan prior to coming to court. Violence Free Colorado has a directory of local domestic violence survivor advocacy organizations and informational resources.
Think about how you will arrive at the courthouse; where the parking lot is, or where the nearest bus stop is. Consider bringing a support person (family member or friend) with you to walk with you and provide emotional support.
Once you enter the courthouse, you will go through a metal detector. Make sure you do not have any weapons in your bags. Sheriff deputies staff courthouse security and are available to provide any additional safety information and support.
You may ask that a sheriff’s deputy be present in the courtroom. It is helpful to request this ahead of the hearing.
After the hearing, the judge will typically allow one party to leave approximately 15 minutes before the other party to avoid dangerous situations in the hallway. Additionally, you may ask a deputy to walk you to your car after the hearing.
What happens when I get to the courtroom?
When you get to the courtroom, let the court clerk know you are there. They will let you know which table to sit at. You should sit at the table, and your witnesses and support people should sit behind you in the benches called “the gallery”.
The judge will enter the courtroom and you will be asked to stand (“All, rise.”) The judge will tell you to be seated and call your case.
You may ask the court to “sequester” witnesses. This means that your witnesses and the other side’s witnesses need to sit outside the courtroom in the hallway until it is their turn to testify. This can be helpful to show that the witnesses are not listening to each other’s testimony and changing what they say. It may also be more comfortable if fewer people are in the courtroom when you discuss personal details about your case. It is your decision whether or not to request this. However, if the other side requests this and the judge grants it, your witnesses must also comply.
If the other person in the case is there, the judge will ask them if they object to the protection order being made permanent. If they do not, the judge will make sure they understand their rights and typically will issue a permanent protection order. You should wait to get a copy of that order before leaving the courtroom.
If the other person objects to the protection order, the judge will start the hearing. The judge may have some questions or comments before the hearing begins. Pay close attention to what the judge says. If you are confused or do not understand something, ask the judge to clarify what he or she meant.
Because you are the person seeking protection, you must present your side first. You must prove your case by “a preponderance of the evidence”. This means that the judge believes you and your evidence more than the other person and their evidence. After you are done with presenting your witnesses and exhibits to the judge, the other side has their opportunity to present witnesses and exhibits. After both sides have gone, the judge will make his or her decision.
How do I present my witnesses?
Each witness may give testimony in the same way. This is true for both sides in a court case.
The judge will start by “swearing in” the witness. The witness must say that they promise to tell the truth “under penalty of perjury”. This means that if they do not tell the truth they could be legally in trouble for lying under the crime of “perjury”.
Step 1: Direct examination
The person who called the witness may begin by asking the witness questions. This is called “Direct Examination”. These questions should be somewhat open ended and should focus on the witness’ personal observations. Factual questions (Who? What? When? Where? And how?) are going to be more helpful to the judge than asking for the witness’ opinion about the other person.
Step 2: Cross examination
After a witness is done with Direct Examination, the other side has an opportunity to ask questions in a process called “Cross Examination”. Cross Examination is not a time to argue with the witness. This time should be used to ask questions that cast doubt upon what the witness said. You can use this time to show where a witness made inconsistent statements, point out prior inconsistent statements, or demonstrate that the witness has a specific bias in this case. You must continue to be professional and courteous to the witness, even if you disagree with their testimony. You may choose not to ask a witness any questions during Cross Examination.
Step 3: Judge questions
After both sides have had a chance to ask a witness questions, the judge may ask some questions themselves. Additionally, the judge may give the two sides an opportunity to ask additional questions.
How do I show my exhibits?
If you have prepared exhibits for the hearing, you must present them during the hearing to allow the judge to review them when making their decision.
To properly present exhibits during the hearing:
- Say, “I am giving the Respondent a copy of Exhibit #.”
- Give a copy of the exhibit to the other person (or their lawyer).
- Ask the court to allow you to give a copy to the witness. (If you are the witness, tell the court that you are looking at the exhibit.)
- Ask the witness to identify the exhibit and explain why it is important to the case.
- Ask the judge to “admit” the exhibit.
- The judge will ask the other side if they object.
- If they do not object, give the judge a copy of the exhibit.
- If they do object, explain why the exhibit should be admitted despite their objection. The judge will “sustain” the objection if they agree with the other side or “overrule” the objection if they agree with you. If they overrule the objection, give the judge a copy of the exhibit.
- Do this for each exhibit you want the judge to review.
What if the other person does not show up to the hearing?
If the other person does not show up to the hearing, and the other person has been served, the judge will proceed without that person’s input. Sometimes the judge will ask you a few questions where you have sworn to tell the truth before deciding to make the protection order permanent.
What if I or the other person asks for more time to prepare?
Both you and the other person have a right to ask for more time before presenting your evidence at the hearing. You can each ask for a new hearing date for “good cause”. This includes asking for additional time to speak with an attorney or getting additional information or evidence before you present your case. The judge gets to decide whether or not to allow either of you more time.
What if the other person lies?
The judge’s job during the hearing is to listen to all the evidence and decide which evidence he or she believes is true. The judge will pay attention to what witnesses say, their body language, their tone of voice, and their behavior in the courtroom. The judge will also consider what other witnesses say and what the exhibits show. If a person’s testimony is different from what other witnesses say and what the exhibits show, the judge may conclude that person is lying or unreliable. It is the judge’s responsibility to make the decision about who the judge believes. Judges take this responsibility very seriously.
What happens after the hearing?
At the end of presenting witnesses and evidence, the judge will make a decision. The judge will make a “finding of fact”, explaining which witnesses and exhibits they believe to be true. The judge will then apply the finding of fact to the law.
To issue a Permanent Protection Order, the judge must find that the facts justified issuing the Temporary Protection Order and that without a Permanent Protection Order, the other person will continue to continue to engage in that behavior or try to intimidate or retaliate against you. If the judge finds this is correct, the judge will issue the Permanent Protection Order. If the judge does not find this, the judge will dismiss the case and there will be no protection order.
Sometimes, based on what you or the other person asks for, the judge can change some parts of the protection order. This is called modifying.
- For example, if you and the other person have children together, the judge may allow some specific types of communication between the two of you to allow the other person to spend time with the children.
If the judge orders a Permanent Protection Order, how long does it last?
If the judge orders a Permanent Protection Order, it will last indefinitely. As the protected party, you may ask the court to modify the protection order or dismiss it at any time after it is issued. The other person may only ask for a modification or dismissal of the protection order two years after it has been issued, and they must provide information about their criminal history to the court. If they do so, they must make sure that you receive notice of their request to modify or dismiss the protection order.
The court may modify terms of the protection order to comply with other court orders such as any criminal proceedings or family law court cases.
What if the other person violates the order?
Violating a protection order is a crime. You should report any violation of the protection order to law enforcement.
Need more help?
You can get help from the courts. Every judicial district has staff called “Sherlocks” to help people with their legal questions. To find the Sherlock in your county, visit the Judicial Department’s Sherlock webpage.