A husband and wife came into my office the other day and spilled their guts out. Neither could hold back the tears either.

The wife got a little bit liquored up and insisted upon driving her kid back home. The husband intervened and his wife punched his lights out. The police arrived and found a few bruises on the wife. Next thing you know, the husband becomes a temporary guest of the county until he is bailed out by his wife after his arraignment. Meanwhile however, the husband can’t live in the same house as his wife. Why? Because the court has the power to issue a protective order against the husband. Pursuant to CPC 136.2, the court can issue a protective order if good cause exists that a victim or witness has suffered or will suffer harm, intimidation, or dissuasion. This may be alright in some battery or domestic violence cases, but not all. Meanwhile however, the child and wife are missing their husband. The wife is still living in the bottle and the child is perhaps neglected all because the cops thought that the husband went O.J. on his wife.

After an hour of sobbing, I finally relented and retained the husband. The next day, we go to court with the wife and request that the protective order be set aside. The Judge put on his stern face and seemed reluctant to grant my motion.

But I argued that instead of automatically issuing the protective order, the court must inquire with the alleged victim and objectively review the facts of the case. Moreover, the victim has another alternative to reach the same objective. A person who needs protection may apply for a restraining order pursuant to CCP 527.6. Because of the fact that the wife appeared and made it clear that husband was not a threat to her, the judge removed the order. Get a California criminal defense attorney or you may be kicked out of your home by the state.