What They Are and How To Get One

Protective orders can help survivors of sexual harm secure distance and safety from a known perpetrator. They are court mandates that restrict or ban contact between named individuals for a defined period of time. In Illinois, “emergency” orders last up to 21 days, while “plenary”, or long-term orders, last up to 2 years and can be extended if necessary. Sometimes people feel intimidated by or lost in the process of getting a protective order but CAASE is here to help clarify the types of orders for survivors of sexual harm, who qualifies for them, what the process looks like, and how to get free legal representation in Cook County, Illinois.

Types of Protective Orders For Survivors in Illinois

CAASE’s Legal Services support survivors of sexual assault in securing three different types of protective orders through the emergency and plenary process: 

1. Order of Protection: Provides protection for people being abused by family, household members, or an intimate partner. A pre-existing relationship is needed to qualify.
2. Stalking No Contact Order: Intended to stop any stalking activity that makes someone fear for their safety or become distressed. Instances of stalking must happen more than once to qualify.
3. Civil No Contact Order (CNCO): Exclusively provides protection for victims of non-consensual sexual conduct or penetration. A pre-existing relationship is NOT needed to qualify for this type of protective order. 

CAASE most frequently assists survivors with Civil No Contact Orders (CNCO). It provides the clearest path to court-ordered distance from a perpetrator of sexual harm because it only requires one act of non-consensual sexual conduct or penetration. And, unlike an Order of Protection, it doesn’t require a pre-existing relationship. 

What Does a Civil No Contact Order Do?

A CNCO’s limitations depend on the contact established between the respondent (the person who caused harm) and the petitioner (the survivor/victim) prior to the sexual assault or abuse. A judge can order the respondent to:

• Not be within a certain distance of the victim
• Stay away from specific places like a home, a school, a daycare, or an office
• Not contact the victim through telephone, email, texts, mail, social media, or other people

Getting an Emergency Protective Order

If a victim/survivor is in immediate danger, meaning that the person who harmed them would try to stop them from getting a protective order, they should pursue an ‘emergency order’. There are 3 main steps to getting an emergency order and they all happen on the same day.

1. Survivor files a petition with the court for an emergency protective order
2. Survivor talks to a judge
3. Judge makes a decision

Filing a Petition 

The survivor (petitioner) goes to the courthouse on their own or with a rape crisis advocate to pursue a protective order. If the petitioner is unable to go to the courthouse, legal advocates are available to answer questions and provide support through a hotline at 708-689-3422.

Once at the courthouse, the victim should go to the Petitioner’s Office and tell courthouse staff, ‘I think I qualify for a protective order. It’s an emergency’. The courthouse staff will ask questions to determine what type of order the petitioner should apply for. They will also connect them with a courthouse advocate or a rape crisis advocate (if they don’t already have one with them) to help them fill out paperwork known as a ‘petition’. Once the paperwork has been filled out, corrected, and submitted to the court, the survivor will go in front of the judge (virtually but still at the courthouse during COVID) that day. 

Emergency Hearing

The judge will ask the survivor to state why they are seeking a protective order. They will also ask them to show why it is an emergency. After the judge has heard from the survivor, they will make a decision about the requested order. 

The Judge’s Decision 

Once the case is presented, the judge is going to respond in one of 3 ways: 

1. Grant the emergency order and set the next court date to occur in 21 days. During those 3 weeks, the respondent will be served with the emergency order, a summons for the court date, and the survivor’s petition.
2. Deny the emergency order BUT tells the survivor they may still qualify for a plenary, long-term order. The judge will set a court date to occur in 21 days. In the meantime, the respondent will be served with a summons for the court date and the survivor’s petition.
3. Deny the survivor’s case because although there may have been harm inflicted, it doesn’t meet the standards of the law for a protective order. The case is over. The survivor may choose to file a new petition with different facts for the court to consider. 

Next Steps

If the court decides to grant the emergency order or directs the survivor to petition for a plenary order (options 1 and 2 above), the process will continue in the same way. A court date will be set for a hearing to determine if a plenary order (which can last up to two years and can be extended) will be granted. The survivor can go to an organization like CAASE to get free legal services and the support of an attorney to assist them in upcoming proceedings. 

Getting a Plenary Protective Order 

The plenary process is basically the same regardless of if the survivor petitioned for an emergency order, or they are choosing to start the process with a petition for a plenary order because their situation was not an emergency. 

To start the plenary process without an emergency order, the survivor must go to the courthouse, fill out paperwork for a plenary order, and a court date will be set to occur in 21 days. During those 3 weeks, the respondent will be served with a summons for the court date and the survivor’s plenary petition.

First Court Appearance in the Plenary Process

On the court date, the judge will check if the respondent was served with the necessary paperwork and summons. We will get into what happens if they were not served in a moment*, but if the respondent was served and fails to appear in court, a default protective order is granted. If they were served and they appear in court, the judge asks the respondent “Do you agree to this order?” and “Do you want an attorney?” If they agree to the survivor’s petition, everyone signs the protective order and it will go into effect. If they refute it, a plenary hearing will take place. 

If the respondent asks for an attorney, the judge will encourage the petitioner to get an attorney as well. Survivors can go to an organization like CAASE to get free legal services and the support of an attorney to assist them in upcoming proceedings. 

A new court date will be set for the plenary hearing to occur in 21 days.

Plenary Hearing

At the plenary hearing, the petitioner (or their attorneys) present evidence and witnesses to prove their case—justifying their need for a long term protective order. The respondent presents evidence and witnesses refuting the need for an order or trying to disprove information in the survivors petition. The survivor has the burden of proof and it’s important to note that this process can be difficult. Presented evidence may include any relevant communication between the two parties, such as text messages, photos, social media posts, dating app messages, voicemails, and more. Feeling exposed to the court can be triggering and traumatic. If you have questions about what to expect, you can contact CAASE legal services.

The Judge’s Decision

The judge will review the evidence that was presented and issue a ruling which denies the order or grants it for a set period of time, up to 2 years. When the order expires, the petitioner can ask the court to extend it for up to two more years. 

If the Respondent Wasn’t Served* 

If law enforcement was unable to serve the respondent within 21 days of the survivors petition, the court cannot do anything—they do not have jurisdiction. A new court date will be set to occur in 21 more days and the process begins again. Typically a judge will allow 3-4 attempts to serve the respondent. If they are never served, the court will run an ad in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin as an attempt to publicly notify the respondent. If the respondent still fails to appear in court on the published date, the court grants a default protective order.  

Getting Free Legal Representation for Protective Order Proceedings

By securing free legal services and representation through CAASE, survivors in Cook County receive individualized legal advice, consultation, and support following and related to sexual harm, with special attention paid to their victim’s rights within the criminal justice system. Because this can be an arduous and long process, steadfast legal advocacy can have a profound impact on a survivors’ healing. 

All of our legal services are free and we tailor them to the needs of each individual client. To learn more, or to schedule a consultation, please call us at 773-244-2230, ext. 205 or email legal@caase.org.

NOTE: Due to the concerns about our staff and clients’ health during the COVID-19 pandemic, our offices are closed. We are working remotely and email is the easiest way to contact our legal team. Please allow up to 72 hours for responses by email and phone.

This piece was published on March 4, 2021. It was authored by CAASE’s Communications Team,  KT Hawbaker, and Hayley Forrestal, based on interviews conducted with CAASE’s Legal Director Mallory Littlejohn. Learn more about our staff here.