A protective order or protection order in South Dakota is the same thing as what people refer to as a restraining order in other states. Someone who has experienced domestic violence, intimate abuse or stalking can ask the courts to grant them a protective order.
This order limits what contacts the person allegedly abusing or harassing them can initiate and may affect everything from your right to live in the family home to the custody proceedings in a divorce. Typically, protection orders impose a rule preventing someone from making contact with the other party on social media or the phone. They also cannot show up at their home or place of employment. If the two of them are in the same place at the same time, one will typically need to leave.
When can you revoke a protection order in South Dakota?
You can file a petition at any time
The courts allow either you or the person who requested the protection order to ask for a change to the order at any point. You will typically need to have evidence validating your desire to end or dismiss the order. Proof that the other party has repeatedly initiated contact with you after requesting the order could help. So could any documentation you have showing that you have addressed certain relationship issues or mental health problems that may have contributed to those issues.
The courts can lift dismiss the order, freeing you of the restrictions that keep you away from your favorite bar or from sharing certain content on social media.
Avoiding a protection order may be a better option
Although you can’t prevent someone else from getting an emergency order on short notice, you will have the right to respond to requests for long-term protection orders granted after a hearing. You have the right to defend yourself from protection order requests.
Presenting evidence to show that the relationship is not unhealthy or that you did not engage in behavior that constitute stalking can help you avoid the restrictions of a protection order in the first place. Fighting back against a protective order or ending one can help you live your best daily life.