PASCOCLERK.COM - Protective Injuctions

Protective Injuctions

Fees and Service Costs

There is no fee for filing a domestic, repeat, dating or sexual violence petition.
The respondent must be served with a copy of the petition by the Sheriff of the county where the respondent is located. There is no fee for the Sheriff service.

Clerk Assistance

The Clerk provides assistance to individuals seeking to file a Domestic Violence Injunction (sometimes called a restraining order). A Petition can be filed by anyone who is the victim of any act of domestic violence or has reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of any act of domestic violence. To become more familiar with the Domestic Violence services and procedures you may view the videos available through the link below to obtain an overview of the Domestic Violence Petition and Hearing Process. Sixth Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Videos
The Clerk & Comptroller provides clerical processing assistance to individuals who are filing a case to petition the Court for an injunction for protection from domestic, repeat sexual or dating violence. The Clerk & Comptroller does not represent either party in the action, and is prohibited by law from giving you legal advice as to whether you should or should not file. However, the Clerk & Comptroller can be a valuable source of referral information for either party. Individuals are not required to hire an attorney to represent them, but may hire an attorney if they choose to do so.
Blank forms and written instructions are available in the Clerk & Comptroller's Office at no charge. The petitioner may complete the paperwork in our office, or may take the forms with them for completion elsewhere. Forms may also be obtained at the local domestic violence shelters. If you are unable to complete the forms yourself, it is recommended that you bring a friend or someone who can do it for you.
The Clerk & Comptroller will also provide the petitioner with the appropriate forms for modifying, or extending the injunction in the event this becomes necessary.

Domestic Violence Shelters

For information on finding a Domestic Violence Shelter in your area, visit Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence

As defined in the Florida Statutes Chapter 741, "Domestic violence means an assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping or false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death to any family or household member by another who is or was residing in the same single dwelling unit. Family or household member means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have resided together at any time."

Any family or household member who is the victim of any act of domestic violence, or who has reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of any act of domestic violence, may file a sworn petition with the Clerk & Comptroller for an injunction for protection. A person’s right to petition for protection shall not be affected by the fact the victim may have left a residence or household to avoid a domestic violence act.

Repeat Violence

As defined in the Florida Statutes Chapter 784, "Repeat violence means two incidents of violence or stalking committed by the respondent, one of which must have been within 6 months of the filing of the petition, which are directed a against the petitioner or the petitioner's immediate family member."

Dating Violence

As defined in Florida Statutes Chapter 784, ""Dating violence" means violence between individuals who have or have had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the consideration of the following factors: (a) A dating relationship must have existed within the past 6 months; (b) the nature of the relationship must have been characterized by the expectation of affection or sexual involvement between the parties; AND (c) the frequency and type of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship must have included that the persons have been involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship. Dating violence does not include violence in a casual acquaintanceship or violence between individuals who only have engaged in ordinary fraternization in a business or social context.

Sexual Violence

If you or a member of your immediate family is a victim of sexual violence, you may ask the court for a protective order (injunction) prohibiting further sexual violence. Sexual violence means any one incident of:

Sexual battery as defined in Florida StatuteChapter 794; or
A lewd and lascivious act, as defined in Florida Statute Chapter 800; or
Luring or enticing a child, as described in Florida Statute Chapter 787; or
Sexual performance by a child, as described in Florida Statute Chapter 827; or
Any other forcible felony wherein a sexual act is committed or committed.

An order for protection may be requested regardless of whether or not any criminal charges based upon the incident were filed, reduced or dismissed by the State Attorney's Office.
> One of the following factors must exist in order for you to qualify for a sexual violence injunction:

The petitioner has reported the sexual violence to a law enforcement agency and is cooperating in any criminal proceeding against the respondent, regardless of whether or not criminal charges based upon the sexual violence have been filed, reduced or dismissed by the State Attorney's Office.

OR
The respondent who committed the sexual violence against the victim or minor child was sentenced to a term of imprisonment in state prison for the sexual violence and the respondent's term of imprisonment has expired or is due to expire within 90 days following the date the Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Sexual Violence is filed.

If at least one of the two above factors do not exist in your situation, you cannot file for an injunction against sexual violence. However, you may qualify for one of the other types of injunctions (domestic, repeat or dating).

Requirements for Filing a Case

You must be 18 years of age in order to file a case. If you are under the age of eighteen and have never been married or had the disabilities of nonage removed by a court, one of your parents or your legal guardian must sign the petition on your behalf.
If you are seeking an injunction for protection against sexual violence on behalf of a minor child who is living at home, the parent or legal guardian must have been an eyewitness to, or have direct physical evidence or affidavits from eyewitnesses of, the specific facts and circumstances that form the basis of the petition.
You must meet the criteria as stated above in the definition of domestic, repeat, dating or sexual violence.
The hours for the Clerk & Comptroller's Office are Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm.

TO FILE A CASE WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU COME INTO THE CLERK & COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE DURING THE MORNING HOURS. THIS WILL ALLOW THE COURT TIME TO REVIEW THE PETITION AND THE CLERK TIME TO PROCESS THE DOCUMENTS FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE FOR SERVICE.

You may be instructed to return to the Clerk & Comptroller's Office at the end of the day to receive your copies of any orders signed by the Judge.
You must complete the petition in your own words, briefly describing the violence in enough detail for the Court to understand the situation. If the forms are completed in the Clerk & Comptroller's Office, the deputy clerk will place you under oath saying your statements are true. If the forms are completed elsewhere and brought into our office for filing, your signature must be notarized.
Upon completion and filing with the Clerk & Comptroller, a court record is created and the file is forwarded immediately to the Judge for review the same day it is filed.
If there is an immediate and present danger of violence, the Court can issue a temporary injunction w without notice to the respondent, which will remain in effect for 15 days.
- The petitioner will be provided a certified copy of the temporary injunction. which should be kept with you at all times in the event you must call the Sheriff’s office to enforce the injunction.
- The Clerk & Comptroller will make certified copies of the temporary injunction and a copy of the petition and forward it to the Sheriff for service upon the respondent at the address the petitioner provides to us.
- During this 15-day time frame, the court will set a hearing and both parties will be notified of the hearing date and time. At the hearing, the Court will hear testimony as to whether a permanent injunction for protection will be ordered.
Based upon the statements contained in the petition, if the court does not issue a temporary injunction, the court may set a hearing at which time both parties must be present to determine if an injunction for protection will be ordered. The clerk will make copies of the petition and notice of hearing and forward it to the Sheriff for service upon the respondent at the address the petitioner provides to us.
OR the Court may find that no violence occurred or there is no imminent threat of danger and will enter an order denying the petition.
At the return hearing, both parties should be present to present the facts to the Judge to determine if a permanent injunction for protection should be entered. If the petitioner and/or respondent do not appear, the court may enter appropriate orders, including the imposition of court costs, or an injunction.

Protective Injuction Instructions and Form Completion Instructions

Some forms are provided online for your convenience. The initial petition for protection can be completed using Adobe Acrobat and then printed on your printer. However, the information you enter can not be saved if you are using the free Adobe Reader. If you are using the Adobe Reader, please complete and print the appropriate petition and bring with you to the Clerk's Office. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer, click the link below to download the free Adobe Reader.

DISCLAIMER: These documents are not an attempt by the Clerk & Comptroller to practice law or give legal advice, it is intended to provide notice of procedures followed by the Clerk & Comptroller's Office at the direction of the Courts. All forms are derived from either the Supreme Court promulgated forms or Sixth Judicial Circuit Court approved forms. Forms are subject to change without further notice by the Courts.

Instructions for Completing Forms

Press the tab key to advance from field to field, including check boxes.
Press Shift+Tab (hold shift key down and then press the tab key) to return to the previous field OR use the mouse and left-click in the field.
Left-click to select fields or boxes that require a checkmark.
Date fields require the date to be entered in mm/dd/yyyy format.

Department Contact Information

DADE CITY	NEW PORT RICHEY
Paula S. O'Neil Clerk and Comptroller 38053 Live Oak Avenue Suite 205 Dade City, FL 33523-3894 (352) 521-4292 8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Friday Directions	Paula S. O'Neil Clerk and Comptroller Mailing Address P.O. Box 338 New Port Richey, FL 34656-0338 Physical Location: 7530 Little Road New Port Richey, FL 34654 Suite 105 (727) 847-8176 8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Friday Directions