Orders of Protection in New York

Which courts can issue an order of protection?

Three can, and people routinely confuse them because the paperwork looks similar and the consequences are not.

Court	Where it comes from	Who asks for it
Family Court	A family offense petition under Family Court Act article 8, or a custody, support or child protective case	The other party, as a civil petitioner
Criminal court	A criminal case, usually at arraignment, often as a condition of release under CPL 530.12	The District Attorney, on behalf of the State
Supreme Court	A matrimonial or divorce action	A spouse, inside the divorce case

More than one can be in force at the same time over the same people. When that happens the terms have to be reconciled, because following one can put you in violation of another.

Temporary or final: what is the difference?

A temporary order is interim. It can issue at arraignment, or the day a Family Court petition is filed, before anyone has proved anything. It is not a finding that you did what is alleged. It is still completely enforceable while it lasts.

A final order follows a disposition: a conviction, a Family Court fact-finding, or your own consent. That last route matters more than people realize. Consenting to a final order to make a case go away is not the same as a judge finding against you after a hearing, and the difference can matter later in a custody dispute.

Who counts as family for a Family Court order?

Broader than most people expect. Under Family Court Act 812, members of the same family or household generally include people related by blood or marriage, spouses and former spouses, people who have a child in common, and people who are or were in an intimate relationship. The relationship does not have to be sexual, and the court weighs its nature, duration and closeness. A casual acquaintance or an ordinary business relationship generally does not qualify.

What can an order actually require?

• Stay away from a person, a home, a workplace or a school
• Refrain from contact of any kind, including calls, texts, social media and messages passed through other people
• Surrender firearms and suspend or revoke a license to carry
• Leave a shared home, even one you pay for or own
• Conditions on custody and visitation, or on contact with your own children

A full stay-away order can put you out of your own house and away from your children on the strength of an allegation, before any hearing. That is why the first appearance matters so much.

Can the protected person cancel it?

No. This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this area of law.

The order belongs to the court, not to the protected person. An invitation to come over does not suspend it. Neither does a reconciliation, a text saying it is fine, or the two of you living together again. If the order says no contact and you answer a phone call, you can be arrested for it, and the person who called you is not the one who gets charged.

Only the court that issued the order can change it, and it does that by application, not by agreement between the parties.

What happens if you violate one?

Violating an order of protection is a separate crime, prosecuted as criminal contempt.

Charge	Statute	Class	In general
Criminal contempt, second degree	PL 215.50	Class A misdemeanor	Specified violations of a court order
Criminal contempt, first degree	PL 215.51	Class E felony	More serious violations, including conduct intended to put a protected person in fear of physical injury or death

A violation can also bring a Family Court contempt proceeding, revocation of your release conditions in the underlying criminal case, modification of the order to something stricter, and consequences in a custody case. Those run alongside the new charge, not instead of it.

What the prosecution actually has to prove

Contact alone is not the offense. To make out criminal contempt the prosecution generally has to establish the order, that you were served with it or actually knew of it, a prohibited act, and the required mental state. Each of those is contestable. Orders are sometimes never properly served. Terms are sometimes ambiguous about what contact means. And a call you did not initiate, answered without thinking, is a different factual picture from a deliberate approach.

One incident, two cases

After a domestic incident it is common to face a criminal prosecution and a Family Court family offense petition at the same time, over the same night. They are separate proceedings with different standards, and they can both proceed. A dismissal in one does not end the other.

What you say in one can be used in the other. A custody affidavit explaining your side is a written statement in the criminal case. That is the reason to get advice before you file anything, sign anything, or explain yourself to anyone.

The firm covers both sides of that problem. See Family Court matters in Nassau County and criminal defense.

Where these are heard in Nassau County

Family Court orders come from Nassau County Family Court at 101 County Seat Drive in Mineola. Note that this moved: the Westbury courthouse closed permanently and Family Court matters relocated to Mineola in June 2025, so older directions online are wrong. Criminal court orders come from the District Court at 99 Main Street in Hempstead, or from the local town or village court.