Order of Protection Defense Attorney

What a Wyoming Protection Order Actually Does to You

A Wyoming judge can order you to leave your house, take your kids away from you, and take away your guns on the same day that a petition is filed. You are not in the courtroom when this happens. The first thing you hear about it is when a deputy hands you paperwork and tells you not to return home.

That first order is an ex parte temporary order of protection, issued on the petitioner’s sworn statement alone, without any criminal charges or arrests. It is a civil order, which fools people into thinking it’s just a formality, but breaking any part of it is considered a crime.

Depending on what the judge decides, an order may:

• Transfer the other party’s sole possession of the residence and evict you, even if the lease is in your name.
• Ban all contact, including calls, texts, emails, social media, and messages passed through friends.
• Establish temporary custody and visitation arrangements for your children.
• Require counseling for the duration of the order, as per W.S. 35-21-105.
• Prohibit you from owning firearms. A qualifying final order may trigger a federal ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which also applies to hunting rifles.

The Three Types of Protection Orders in Wyoming

Most people call us, knowing only that they have been “served with a restraining order”. What order it is determines the standard of proof, the strategy, and what you should say out loud before the hearing.

Domestic Abuse Protection Order

Filed under the Domestic Abuse Protection Act, W.S. 35-21-101 and following. It requires a household relationship, defined more broadly than most people expect: current and former spouses, people who live together or have lived together, dating partners, co-parents, parents and their adult children. You do not need to share an address. The petitioner must prove domestic abuse by a preponderance of evidence. These are often accompanied by Wyoming domestic violence charges.

Stalking or Sexual Assault Protection Order

Filed under W.S. 7-3-508, no relationship is required. A neighbor, coworker, or ex you never lived with can file a petition. The court seeks to find clear and present danger of stalking or sexual assault. This statute has one important feature: unless charges have already been filed, your testimony in a hearing is not admissible in later criminal cases and does not waive protection against self-incrimination. This provision decides whether you take the stand.

Criminal No-Contact Order (Bond Condition)

Not a civil protection order at all. It is a condition of your release, imposed by the judge in your criminal case. The alleged victim cannot lift it. Only the court can and the prosecutor gets a say. Violate it and you face bond revocation plus a new charge. After an arrest for domestic violence, being under bond conditions and a civil order are common at once.

Your Timeline After Being Served

Here is what the calendar usually looks like, and why the gap between service and hearing misleads people.

• Day zero. The petition has been filed and the court may grant a temporary order immediately, often within a few hours.
• Service. A deputy will deliver the order and notice of the hearing. Please read the hearing date carefully. Then, read each restriction twice.
• The hearing. W.S. 35-21-104 directs the court to hear the petition within 72 hours, or as soon as possible after that. However, crowded dockets in smaller counties may delay the hearing. Some clients may have to wait one to three weeks for their hearing.
• The temporary order will not expire while you are waiting. A delayed hearing is not the same as a lapsed order.
• After the hearing, a final order can be issued for a fixed period of up to three years. This period can be extended repeatedly for up to another three years if there is a good reason for doing so.

Missed the hearing and the judge may enter that final order without your say. A default order has the same weight as one issued after a trial, including firearms consequences. You can later ask the court to modify it. You will live under it while you attempt.

What a Protection Order Costs You Beyond the Paper

Clients tell us they almost skipped the hearing because “it’s just a civil matter.” Then they learned what a final order is.

• Guns. A qualifying final order bans you from under federal law possessing, buying or transporting firearms or ammunition, regardless of whether the Wyoming judge has checked a firearms box. This includes the rifle in your truck.
• Your job. Peace officers, service members, nurses, and licensed contractors can face a review, reassignment, or end of their career over an order that never involved conviction. Security clearances are also pulled in.
• Your kids. Temporary custody terms are carried into family court, where a judge will read the file.
• Your record. Not a criminal conviction, and not a standard criminal history. It is a civil case that is entered into the national protection order file and will stop gun purchases at the counter.

How We Defend a Protection Order Hearing in Wyoming

The petitioner’s burden is lower than in a criminal case. It is still a burden and it is met by evidence that can be tested. You can testify, call witnesses, submit your own texts and call logs, and cross-examine the person who filed it. The rules of evidence apply. Petitions based on secondhand accounts and screenshots without context do not always survive an objection to hearsay or foundation.

Christina L. Williams has prosecuted cases in Wyoming before she began defending them. She knows what a judge in these hearings actually listens for.

Why Clients Across Wyoming Choose Just Criminal Law

Former Prosecutors on Your Side. Our attorneys spent years working for the state before switching sides. We know exactly how prosecutors build cases and exactly where to find the holes.

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