Receiving a protective or no-contact order in Indiana establishes immediate, legally binding rules, often issued without prior notice, before you have had a chance to present your side in court. These temporary orders can instantly restrict where you live, whether you can see your children, or how you conduct your daily business.
Because any violation is a separate criminal offense, strictly following the directives listed on the document is critical while your case is pending. Blankenship Law, LLC helps individuals contest improper orders and navigate the hearing process to ensure your rights and perspective are fully represented in court.
Protective Order vs. No-Contact Order
The paperwork you were served tells you which kind of order you’re facing. A no-contact order comes out of a criminal case, ordered as a condition of bail, pretrial release, or probation. Under Indiana Code 35-33-8-3.6, if you were charged with a violent crime that hurt someone and were released on bail without a bail hearing in open court. A no-contact order that comes from probation instead is set under a different rule.
A protective order is a civil matter instead, filed by the other person on their own, often before you knew it existed. Both can order the same basic thing, no contact, direct or indirect, with the protected person, their home, job, or their kids’ school. The standard of proof and your options for fighting back are not identical, and knowing which one landed on your doorstep changes the first call your protective order attorney makes.
Your First 72 Hours
The first three days set the tone for the rest of the case.
- Stop all contact immediately, including texts, social media, and messages sent through a friend.
- Read the order itself, and note the exact addresses and dates it covers.
- Do not go near the listed home, workplace, or school, even to pick up your own belongings.
- Save everything, screenshots, voicemails, any message the protected person sends, since you cannot respond but can document.
- Call an attorney before your first hearing, so someone reviews the order for errors first.
Request A Hearing, And Do It Fast
Most protective orders start as ex parte orders, meaning a judge signed off after hearing only one side before you had a chance to respond. You can ask the court for a hearing to present evidence and challenge the order, and for most protective orders you can do this at any time, not just in the first month. The 30-day deadline inside Indiana Code 34-26-5-9 is the court’s own deadline to hold a hearing on a harassment-based petition, not a deadline for you to act. Still, ask as soon as you can, since evidence gets harder to gather the longer you wait.
Years spent writing petitions and arguing them from the other side of the table pay off here. An attorney who sat in the prosecutor’s chair on cases like yours knows which allegations get exaggerated under pressure and where a petition falls apart under cross-examination.
Violating The Order Is Its Own Crime
Breaking either type of order, even unintentionally, is its own crime in Indiana, charged as invasion of privacy under Indiana Code 35-46-1-15.1. A first violation is a Class A misdemeanor, up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, and if you have a prior conviction for this same crime, it becomes a Level 6 felony, carrying up to two and a half years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
It usually doesn’t matter who reached out first. If the protected person texts you and you respond, you can still be charged with breaking the order, because the law looks at whether your contact was knowing and on purpose, not at who started the conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the person who asked for the order change their mind and have it dropped?
Only the court can lift the order, not the petitioner alone. Either side can file a motion asking the judge to dissolve or modify it under Indiana Code 34-26-5-12, but a judge still has to approve it, usually after a hearing.
Do I have to move out of my house?
Only if the order grants the other person possession of the residence. A no-contact order tied to a pending criminal charge sometimes includes this, especially in domestic violence cases. Check the exact language of your order, since assuming either way can lead to a violation.
Will this show up on a background check?
A protective order by itself is usually a civil record, so it won’t show up on a job background check the way a criminal conviction would. But if the order qualifies under a federal law, it can stop you from passing a background check to buy a gun, and it can make it a federal crime for you to possess one while the order is active.
Blankenship Law, LLC: Your Protective Order Defense Law Firm
You didn’t plan on learning Indiana protective order law this week, and most people who call us haven’t either. Between the Carmel and Valparaiso offices, our attorneys have stood on both sides of these hearings, first as prosecutors deciding which cases to push, now as defense counsel deciding how to unwind them. That perspective shapes how we read your order, looking for the deadline about to pass and the argument the petition never addressed. If you were served this week, reach out now anyway. The sooner we start, the more time we have to gather evidence and prepare.
Contact our firm today and let’s look at what you’re up against before that window closes.
