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Violating a no contact order will lead to a misdemeanor or felony charge. No contact orders place restrictions on avoiding anywhere the victim is likely to be such as their home, work, or places they frequent. To fight against this charge, your attorney will make charging you as difficult as possible and make arguments centering evidence and intent.
When people think about a no contact order, they often think of a restraining order. While this is a type of no contact order, there are a also 72-hour no contact orders for domestic violence cases and no contact orders that can be a condition of someone’s bail.
Regardless of the origin of the no contact order, violating one will lead to legal consequences and a criminal charge.
If you are accused of violating the no contact order, it is ultimately up to the district attorney’s office to decide whether to issue charges. The district attorney (DA) will look at the violation and have to determine if there was a no contact order in place, if the defendant committed an act that violates the order, and if the defendant intentionally violated the no contact order.
Intent is the biggest defense to these violations because, at a trial, intent has to be proven through circumstances and evidence. For example, if the accusation is that you intentionally violated the no contact order by going to the person’s place of work, and had no reason to be there, then establishing intent won’t be much of a challenge. Now, if the allegation is that you violated the order by intentionally going to a new restaurant that just opened and they happen to be there, proving intent gets harder if there is no other evidence.
An attorney on your side can also help by making the DA’s job hard. A criminal attorney will know what to and not to tell the DA to ensure you don’t give them any information that could hurt you.
Under Wisconsin law, if you are charged with Violating a Restraining Order, this is an unspecified Misdemeanor (Misdemeanor U) that carries a maximum penalty of 9 months in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both.
If the no contact order is the result of a criminal conviction, there are two possible penalties one could face. If the court order stems from a misdemeanor conviction, then you could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor and face a 9 month penalty, a $10,000 fine, or both. If the court order stems from a felony conviction, then you could be charged with a Class H felony and face up to 6 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
One thing to keep in mind is that each violation of a no contact order can be its own criminal charge. For example, if a court ordered you to have no contact with someone, and you proceed to send them 10 text messages, each text message would constitute a violation of the order.
No contact orders are intended to prevent harm or harassment against the petitioner. To accomplish that goal, these orders will often include specific locations that must be avoided. The most common locations that you would be required to avoid are the person’s residence and place of work.
Another common location that is ordered, but is far less specific, is the order to avoid any location you should reasonably expect the person to be. While that may sound incredibly vague, it is easier to figure out than you might think. For example, if there is a no contact order in place against someone that you know picks their child up from daycare everyday, that is a location you should “reasonably expect them to be” and thus must avoid. The same train of thought can apply to gyms, grocery stores, doctor’s offices, and so on.
However, it does require a reasonable expectation that they would be at a particular location. You could go to the same gym for years and never once see the person you are ordered to have no contact with. Then after the order is put in place, you go to the gym and see that person there for the first time ever. While there would be a defense that based on history you couldn’t have expected them to be at that gym, this is still a location you now know that person to be located at and will be required to leave to avoid a violation.
The victim, or petitioner, can only get in trouble for violating a no contact order if the court specifically ordered them to have no contact with the defendant or respondent. So no generally, the victim cannot get in trouble for violating a no contact order that is for them.
These orders are one way and only place restrictions on the person the order is against. So, if a victim calls you and you accept the call, you could get in trouble. If they text you and you respond, you could get in trouble. If you ignore the calls and messages, they won’t get in trouble, but neither will you.
This can vary based on the county you are in and the nature of the alleged violation. Typically, DAs and judges view victim-initiated contact as less serious than defendant-initiated contact. However, the nature of the contact can often determine the repercussions.
For example, if the person you are ordered to avoid shows up on your front door and you answer the door, hypothetically this could be considered a violation if you say anything to them. If you tell them to leave and close the door on them, while still a technical violation, it is less likely the DA or Judge would have an issue with it. If you answer the door and threaten them or even just have a conversation with them, that could be seen negatively and be seen as a violation.
For the victim, there are no legal consequences for “violating a no contact order”. Personal consequences could be different. A victim who wants to have contact can get the defendant in additional legal trouble if they attempt to facilitate the violation of the no contact order, putting the defendant in a worse situation than they would have otherwise been in. This could end up with more criminal charges with potentially additional jail.
The short answer is that victims cannot break no contact orders. No contact orders are a one-way street that only apply to the person they are ordered against. They do not apply to the person that they are intended to protect. Victims are still allowed to contact the person the order is against.
It is not uncommon for a victim to say in court they want to have contact with a defendant, and the court issues a no contact order despite their wishes. In these situations, victims can easily get the defendants in trouble by initiating contact and not fully understanding the consequences.
Most of the penalties and risks associated with violating a no contact order are legal, however, there are scenarios where it can affect your employment, living situation, or school depending on the proximity of the parties involved and the restrictions put in place.
As mentioned above, most people think of a restraining order when they think of a no contact order, but that actually isn’t the most common type of no contact order. The most common types of no contact orders are as follows:
The no contact order that is used the most often is a 72-Hour no contact order that results from an arrest for domestic violence. Under Wisconsin law, if police are called to a domestic disturbance and have a reasonable belief that an act of domestic violence has occurred or witness the act, they are required to arrest the person they believe was the aggressor.
Once the aggressor is arrested, there is a 72-hour no-contact order issued against them even if no charges are made. However, the police are required to ask the victim about this order and whether they want it in place. The 72-hour no contact order is automatically issued unless the victim expressly states that they do not want the order in place.
The second most common type of no contact order is when the court orders it after a criminal charge as a condition of someone’s bail, probation, or extended supervision. In an effort to protect victims from further acts of violence, harassment, or potential witness intimidation, Courts often place a no contact order with the listed victim in the case that covers direct and 3rd party contact with the individual. This no contact order stems from the Wisconsin statute 941.39.
The courts often issue these no contact orders automatically. Additionally, if a criminal case results in a conviction and the defendant receives some form of post-conviction supervision, like probation or extended supervision, a court usually issues a no contact order as a condition of this supervision.
Then the final type of no contact order is the classic restraining order granted to someone upon request. A court can issue this if they are satisfied that the petitioner has demonstrated acts of harassment, stalking, or domestic abuse that are likely to continue if the order is not granted.
If the court grants the petition for a restraining order, the respondent will, generally, be prohibited from having any direct contact with the person requesting the order. They will also be prohibited from any kind of 3rd party contact. Which means that if you are ordered to have no contact with someone, and ask a mutual friend to pass a message to them, this is a violation of the order. Any form of contact can lead to a criminal charge for violation of no contact order.
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