Q: Can you be charged with contempt for violating an ex-parte protective order that has been replaced with a TPO?
At the TPO hearing the ex-parte protective order is supposed to have expired.
3 months later, the plaintiff decides they want to claim contempt for violating the ex-parte protective order, not the TPO. is this legal?
A: I think the more appropriate question to ask is whether it is going to be effective. Additionally, the defendant (respondent) to the now TPO might want to contemplate whether the alleged conduct violates the TPO. It is possible under these facts that such a defendant may file a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim only to have it refiled now relating to the current standing order.
A:
Procedurally that is not going to get very far. Any contempt issue should have been raised in the TPO hearing where the Ex Parte expired, and it would appear the TPO was not granted. So there is a mootness issue on top of everything else.
It would be a bit of a mess, and if the Court doesnt stop it then a lawyer will.
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