Protective orders in Virginia are only effective when the respondent / defendant has been put on notice of them, including by being served a copy of the order

Protective orders (PO’s) in Virginia are not effective on a respondent / defendat before the respondent is served a copy of the order or otherwise sufficiently put on notice of the order. Claramunt v. Commonwealth of Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___ (2025). Moreover, the Virginia Court of Appeals in Claremont reverses his conviction for violating an emergency protective order’s no contact order, where the superseding preliminary PO does not bar all contact with the respondent’s wife and two minor children, but instead bars hostile contact, and the only contact established after issuance of the preliminary PO is that the respondent transported his son from school and picked up some of his belongings from family home. Claramunt. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I recommend this article to everyone, as anyone can become the target of a PO.

Challenge whether protective orders have been served

Virginia emergency and preliminary protective orders ordinarily are issued ex parte, without requiring the presence of the respondent. Therefore, merely asserting a violation of a term or condition of a PO is not sufficient to obtain a conviction for such an alleged violation, which of course means proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the mere issuance of a PO  is not a sufficient grounds to prove a PO violation nor to obtain such a conviction. A conviction is not available without the assistant commonwealth attorney’s / prosecutor’s proving that the defendant either received the protective order or otherwise sufficiently knew about the protective order’s contents before the alleged offense.

Be ready to appeal a conviction for violating a PO

Merely because you get convicted of a crime in a Virginia district court — whether involving protective orders or otherwise — your fight is not over, unless you have waived your appeal right. In Virginia, you have ten days to correctly file a notice of appeal from a criminal conviction, That appeal will proceed by a trial by jury, unless both sides agree to waive  jury for trial.

What qualities and experience should my Virginia criminal defense lawyer have?

You should obtain the best possible Virginia criminal defense lawyer to defend you in court. Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz has successfully defended thousands of criminal defendants, including those charged with violating protective orders. For your free in-person confidential consultation about your court-pending Virginia felony, misdemeanor or DUI prosecution, call 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com, or (text) 571-406-7268.