4.4.2 TRO Standard

Under LA. R.S. 46:2135, the Court may issue a temporary restraining order upon a showing of “good cause” that an order is necessary to protect the petitioner or minor child from abuse. “[I]mmediate and present danger of abuse” constitutes good cause.

A petitioner does not have to allege recent physical violence to meet this standard. In the past, many judges refused to issue a temporary restraining order if the petitioner did not allege recent physical abuse. But in 2015, the law was changed to state that “there is no requirement that the abuse itself be recent, immediate, or present,” and that “the court shall consider any and all past history of abuse, or threats thereof” when determining whether good cause exists for a TRO.1  As a result of this change, judges must consider important historical context of abuse—even if it is remote in time.2

Although rarely invoked or cited in domestic abuse cases, the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure also includes applicable rules governing all temporary injunctions. For example, Article 3603.1 provides that any TRO prohibiting one person from harming or going near another person must be supported by “good and reasonable grounds to fear for his or her safety or that of the children, or the complainant has in the past been the victim of abuse by the other spouse.”

• 1La. R.S. 46:2135(A).
• 2Id.; see also Shaw v. Young, 2015-0974 (La. App. 4 Cir. 8/17/16), 199 So. 3d 1180, 1185–86 (affirming protection order where petitioner “lived in constant fear that, because of the physical violence in the past, as soon as there was not a protective order in place, the ‘harassment will step up and it won’t be just electronic harassment.’”).