Q: Would my father be able to refile an order of protection on my behalf after it was dismissed without prejudice?

A: Yes and no. The two broad issues appearing here are the reach of the New York order of protection, and its coverage between people. Let's start with reach.

The New York Family Court Act Article 8, specifically in §812 lists the interpersonal crimes that give rise to an order of protection. New Yorkers who have these Article 8 petitions filed against them are familiar with the definitions of harassment," and disorderly conduct." New Yorkers are also familiar with the general policy that all such orders will always be granted because there is a federal source of money sent to the states to defray the costs of enforcing the federal statutes that govern protection from abuse of women and children. This payment structure also helps divert the public's attention from its need to defend itself against government to a need to defend themselves from each other. Once people are set off against people, government can then shut down amendments in the Bill of Rights to drop the screens that protect the public from government. Speech can be prohibited, guns taken away, police procedures loosened to enhance arrests and ease prosecutions, and so on.

However, the coverage of these statutes and these orders is tightly controlled and highly limited. Article 8 only applies to certain relationships that arise within a union of close people such as married couples, lovers, parents and children, and family members related by blood. A parent can file for and obtain an order of protection on behalf of one's child, but once that child attains eighteen years of age, that ability falls away.

This does not mean the parent will not try and the judge sitting in a family court will not dismiss the petition. There could be a temporary order in effect until the parties appear before the judge who upon inquiry must dismiss such a petition: one that seeks an order of protection on behalf of another related adult against an unrelated person.

Hence, the father can file and refile a petition previously dismissed "without prejudice" all he wants, but once the asker achieves her eighteenth birthday, he cannot obtain an order of protection on the asker's behalf against another person. Only the adult asker would be able to file such a petition against her significant other, and the cycle of legal altercations between people in love continues into the next generation as government tightens the screws on the American public.