We provide specialized winterization services to safeguard your pool during the off-season, and when spring arrives, we handle the thorough opening process.
We provide specialized winterization services to safeguard your pool during the off-season, and when spring arrives, we handle the thorough opening process.
Adult Orders of Protection are often misunderstood as minor or purely civil matters. They are not.
An adult order of protection can immediately strip a person of constitutional rights, including the right to possess firearms. If upheld, it commonly requires participation in a Batterers Intervention Program, which typically lasts 26 weeks or longer. Violations of an order can lead to criminal charges, including criminal contempt, which is quasi-criminal and can result in jail time.
These cases move fast, carry serious consequences, and must be treated as high-risk litigation from the very beginning.
An order of protection hearing is not a discussion, mediation, or administrative review. It is a trial.
Witnesses testify under oath. Evidence is admitted. Credibility is judged. Findings are made. The court decides whether to enter a full order that can follow a person for years.
Clients must be fully prepared to:
Walking into court unprepared is one of the most common and damaging mistakes people make in these cases.
Temporary orders are often issued the same day a petition is filed, without the respondent present. That does not mean the final hearing is automatic.
Attorney Thomas Kissell regularly defends individuals facing adult orders of protection and understands how these proceedings intersect with:
How the case is handled at the protection order stage often determines what happens next.
Many people mistakenly believe an order of protection hearing is low risk or that the court will simply see the truth. That assumption is dangerous.
Adult orders of protection can:
Always assume the worst and prepare accordingly.
Clients must come to court fully prepared.
That means:
Judges will not search phones, scroll through screenshots, or accept last-minute explanations. Evidence must be presented properly and professionally.
Continuances in adult order of protection cases are not common.
Outside of the initial hearing date for the limited purpose of retaining counsel, courts rarely grant continuances. Judges expect the parties to be ready to proceed.
Waiting to prepare until the hearing date is often too late.
Statements made during an order of protection trial can later be used in:
Cross-examination matters. Objections matter. Strategic silence matters.
Never attend an order of protection hearing without legal counsel.
An adult order of protection can immediately affect firearm possession under both state and federal law.
Once an order is entered:
Even temporary orders can trigger firearm restrictions. These issues must be addressed immediately.
If an adult order of protection is upheld, courts commonly require participation in a Batterers Intervention Program.
These programs:
Failure to complete the program can result in further court action or contempt proceedings.
Violating an order of protection is not a technical issue.
Alleged violations can result in:
Criminal contempt is quasi-criminal, but the consequences are very real.
In some cases, the evidence is unfavorable or the risk of an adverse finding is too high.
Missouri law allows consent judgments in adult order of protection cases. A consent judgment:
When used strategically, consent judgments can protect clients when outright dismissal is unlikely.
Not every case is appropriate for a consent judgment. Knowing when to pursue one requires experience.
Adult orders of protection are governed by Chapter 455 of the Missouri Revised Statutes.
These statutes define:
Understanding how these statutes interact with criminal law is essential to effective defense.