Juvenile Court Service Unit

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16.1-228.1 "Family abuse" means any act involving violence, force, or threat that results in bodily injury or places one in reasonable apprehension of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury and that is committed by a person against such person's family or household member. Such act includes, but is not limited to, any forceful detention, stalking, criminal sexual assault in violation of Article 7 (§18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, or any criminal offense that results in bodily injury or places one in reasonable apprehension of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury.

"Family or household member" means (i) the person's spouse, whether or not he or she resides in the same home with the person, (ii) the person's former spouse, whether or not he or she resides in the same home with the person, (iii) the person's parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, brothers, sisters, grandparents and grandchildren, regardless of whether such persons reside in the same home with the person, (iv) the person's mother-in-law, father-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law who reside in the same home with the person, (v) any individual who has a child in common with the person, whether or not the person and that individual have been married or have resided together at any time, or (vi) any individual who cohabits or who, within the previous twelve months, cohabited with the person, and any children of either of them then residing in the same home with the person.

• Protective Orders must be filed at the Manassas Intake Office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9:30 am Monday through Friday. No appointment is necessary. A court hearing may be held at 1:30 p.m. the same day.
• If you arrive at the Intake Office after 10 a.m. your petition will be scheduled for the next day the court is in session. If you come in after 10 a.m. on Friday the court hearing will not be until Monday at 1:30 p.m. An Intake Officer will interview you and a sworn statement will be presented to the Judge at the 1:30 p.m. hearing.
• In addition to talking with an Intake Officer, you will be interviewed by a counselor from Turning Points (a domestic violence program). The Turning Points counselor will accompany you to court and help you through the court process. If assistance for emergency shelter, food, or emotional support is needed, contact 703-221-4951. Turning Points is available 24 hours a day seven days a week, including holidays.

The Intake Officer is not an attorney, but is a probation officer trained to assist you in matters regarding domestic relations cases. He or she cannot give you legal advice.

§ 16.1-253.1 Preliminary protective orders in cases of family abuse; confidentially.

A. Upon the filing of a petition alleging that the petitioner is or has been, within a reasonable period of time, subjected to family abuse, the court may issue a preliminary protective order against an allegedly abusing person in order to protect the health and safety of the petitioner or any family or household member of the petitioner. The order may be issued in an ex parte proceeding upon good cause shown when the petition is supported by an affidavit or sworn testimony before the judge or intake officer. Immediate and present danger of family abuse or evidence sufficient to establish probable cause that family abuse has recently occurred shall constitute good cause. Evidence that the petitioner has been subjected to family abuse within a reasonable time and evidence of immediate and present danger of family abuse may be established by showing that (i) the allegedly abusing person is incarcerated and is to be released from incarceration within 30 days following the petition or has been released from incarceration within 30 days prior to the petition, (ii) the crime for which the allegedly abusing person was convicted and incarcerated involved family abuse against the petitioner, and (iii) the allegedly abusing person has made threatening contact with the petitioner while he was incarcerated, exhibiting a renewed threat to the petitioner of family abuse.

A preliminary protective order may include any one or more of the following conditions to be imposed on the allegedly abusing person:

1. Prohibiting acts of family abuse or criminal offenses that result in injury to person or property.
2. Prohibiting such contacts by the respondent with the petitioner or family or household members of the petitioner as the court deems necessary for the health or safety of such persons.
3. Granting the petitioner possession of the premises occupied by the parties to the exclusion of the allegedly abusing person; however, no such grant of possession shall affect title to any real or personal property.
4. Enjoining the respondent from terminating any necessary utility service to a premises that the petitioner has been granted possession of pursuant to subdivision 3 or, where appropriate, ordering the respondent to restore utility services to such premises.
5. Granting the petitioner temporary possession or use of a motor vehicle owned by the petitioner alone or jointly owned by the parties to the exclusion of the allegedly abusing person; however, no such grant of possession or use shall affect title to the vehicle.
6. Requiring that the allegedly abusing person provide suitable alternative housing for the petitioner and any other family or household member and, where appropriate, requiring the respondent to pay deposits to connect or restore necessary utility services in the alternative housing provided.
7. Any other relief necessary for the protection of the petitioner and family or household members of the petitioner.

EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE ORDERS WHEN COURT IS CLOSED

16.1-253.4 Any judge of a circuit court, general district court, juvenile and domestic relations district court or magistrate may issue a written or oral ex parte emergency protective order pursuant to this section in order to protect the health or safety of any person.

When a law enforcement officer or an allegedly abused person asserts under oath to a magistrate, and on that assertion or other evidence the magistrate finds that (i) a warrant for a violation of 18.2-57.2 has been issued and there is probable danger of further acts of family abuse against a family or household member by the respondent or (ii) reasonable grounds exist to believe that the respondent has committed family abuse and there is probable danger of a further such offense against a family or household member by the respondent, the judge or magistrate shall issue an ex parte emergency protective order, except if the respondent is a minor, an emergency protective order shall not be required, imposing one or more of the following conditions on the respondent:

An Emergency Protective Order issued pursuant to this section shall expire no later the 5 p.m. on the next business day that the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court is in session or 72 hours after the issuance of the Emergency Order, whichever is later.

1. Prohibiting further acts of family abuse
2. Prohibition of such contacts by the respondent with family or household members of the respondent as the judge or magistrate deems necessary to protect the safety of such persons, and
3. Granting the family or household member possession of the premises occupied by the parties to the exclusion of the respondent; provided, no such grant of possession shall affect title to any real or personal property.

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For more information, visit the Web site of the Supreme Court of Virginia.