Domestic Violence Defense

Wyoming Restraining Order Defense Attorney

In Wyoming, a protection order can kick you out of your own home, stop you from seeing your kids, and even make it illegal for you to own guns, all before you are found guilty of a crime. You can fight these orders at a hearing, and having a lawyer there makes a big difference.

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    Home » Criminal Defense » Domestic Violence » Restraining Orders

    What a Wyoming Protection Order Actually Does

    Protection orders, which are also known as restraining orders or no-contact orders, are orders from a civil court that limit contact between two people. In cases of domestic violence, they are often given out at the same time as a criminal arrest, and sometimes police officers do it right away without waiting for a judge to look at the case. The order can keep you from going home, keep you from seeing your kids, limit where you can go, and affect your job if you work near the protected party.

    In Wyoming, breaking a protection order is a crime, even if the person who is protected starts the contact. If you send one text message, make one call, or run into someone by accident at a place covered by the order, you could be arrested again on top of the original charges. It is important to treat the order as real and binding as soon as it is given.

    How Protection Orders Are Obtained in Wyoming

    Police can issue an emergency protection order at the scene of a domestic incident without having to go to court first. A judge can issue a temporary ex parte order based only on what the petitioner says, without telling you. A final protection order needs a hearing where both sides can be present. It is at that hearing that the order can be challenged, and it is the most important time for legal representation.

    How We Challenge Protection Orders in Wyoming

    At the final protection order hearing, we question the person who filed the order, show evidence that goes against what they said, and argue against the order’s need and scope. A lot of protection orders come from divorces or custody fights that are very heated and where the story told to the court is one-sided or exaggerated. We have successfully fought protection orders in Wyoming, and we treat these hearings as seriously as any criminal case because the results are just as real.

    Related Charges We Also Defend

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    Aggravated Assault Serious injury, a weapon, or strangulation elevates charges to felony territory.
    Battery Physical contact that causes injury — often charged alongside assault.
    Domestic Violence When assault involves a household member, additional charges and consequences follow.
    Strangulation Wyoming treats strangulation as a separate felony — even without visible injury.
    Violent Crimes See all violent crime charges we defend in Wyoming.
    Self-Defense We build and argue self-defense claims at every stage of your case.

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      Client charged with reckless endangering, domestic battery, and child endangering. All charges dismissed.

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    Frequently asked questions about restraining orders in Wyoming

    Yes, a lot. According to federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8)), a person who has a valid domestic violence protection order cannot own guns or ammo. This only applies to final protection orders, not temporary ones. However, a final order can be made at the hearing without a criminal conviction. Even though Wyoming has lenient gun laws, they don’t change this federal ban.

    Breaking a protection order is a crime in Wyoming. The first time you do it, you could go to jail for up to six months and pay fines. The penalties get worse for each time you do it after that. You can still be charged even if the person you were protecting contacted you first. The only safe thing to do is not talk to each other until the court changes or lifts the order.

    Yes. The court can change or throw out a final protection order if someone asks. The protected party can ask the court to lift the order, but the judge will make the final decision, not just the protected party. We can ask the court to change or throw out the order and then argue at the hearing that the reasons for keeping it in place are no longer valid.

    Yes, and you should. The criminal case and the protection order are two separate legal actions that need different types of evidence to be successful. Winning the protection order hearing doesn’t automatically change the criminal case, but having the order challenged and limited keeps you safe while the criminal case is being worked out. We take care of both cases at the same time.

    You should never get in touch with the person who filed the petition. Write down everything you can about the relationship and the events that led to the order, including any witnesses, communications, and evidence that goes against the claims. Then call us right away. The sooner we get involved before the final hearing, the better we can fight the order.

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