3.4 Mutual Protective Orders
3.4 Mutual Protective Orders aetrahan Thu, 08/24/2023 - 14:45Mutual protective orders cannot be granted unless both parties have filed a petition. A protective order may not be granted to a party who has not requested one by written petition because due process requires reasonable notice to a party that an order may be issued against them.1
Lawyers untrained in intimate partner violence often view mutual orders of protection as reasonable resolutions to these cases. For the most part, they are not. Mutual injunctions are harmful and sometimes dangerous for victims. They increase safety risks and undermine important legal rights regarding child custody, support, and divorce. Some of the problems with mutual orders include: (1) mutual orders discourage victims from calling police or enforcing their orders by making them fearful of, and vulnerable to, arrest; (2) mutual orders become a tool for abusers to harass victims through contempt proceedings and arrests; and (3) mutual orders make it difficult for law enforcement to enforce orders and make predominate aggressor determinations.
In addition to these serious enforcement and safety concerns, mutual orders also disadvantage victims of abuse in future litigation. Because mutual orders imply equally abusive behavior by the parties, they can (1) make it difficult for victims to defend against fault allegations that bar them from obtaining final spousal support; and (2) cause victims to lose custodial presumptions in favor of an abused parent under the Post-Separation Family Violence Relief Act and even risk having the custodial presumption imposed against them.
Some attorneys will propose to resolve a protective order case by “dismissing” the Petition for Protection from Abuse and entering a mutual injunction against abuse and harassment that does not go into the Protective Order Registry. But the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure requires that even those orders be immediately reduced to a Louisiana Protective Order Registry form and submitted to the registry by the clerk of court.2 Most of the problems discussed above also apply to these orders. Victims who agree to mutual injunctions of this nature are often not advised of the many potential risks associated with them, including the legal implications for future custody litigation and the safety implications of enforcement problems. Far more often than not, mutual injunctions present more risks than benefits to survivors.