After someone is arrested, they will see a judge within 24 hours to review 3 things: 1) whether there was probable cause for the arrest, 2) whether or not to set a bond (bail) amount in your case. This is the amount it requires the arrested person to pay in order to get out of jail and to ensure the Court that you will return for future proceedings. Otherwise, the defendant stays in jail until the case is fully resolved. And finally, 3) what amount the bond should be set. In some cases, the Judge will ROR the arrested, meaning release on your own recognizance. In these cases, the Judge has decided to release you without paying bond, and the Judge is trusting that you will return to court. This usually only occurs for minor offenses.
If you are released, whether ROR or with a bond, it is possible that the judge will place some conditions on your release. If there is a victim in your case, chances are extremely high that one of those conditions will be that you have “No Contact” with the listed victim. For example, if you are arrested for domestic battery after a heated altercation with spouse and your spouse is listed as the alleged victim, the Judge will order that you have no contact with your own spouse. What exactly does this mean?
First, it means that if you live with your spouse, you cannot return home. The Judge will likely allow for a law enforcement assist visit, meaning that you can return to the home only with a law enforcement officer and only for the amount of time it takes you to gather your necessary belongings. This is usually in the ballpark of about 10-15 minutes. What you decide is necessary is up to you, but it would be advised that you get only the basics including clothes, toiletries, wallet, and whatever else you may need to survive. Whatever you do not gather during this visit will have to wait until the case is resolved, or the order is removed.
When the Judge says, “no contact,” that is exactly what it means. You are to have absolutely NO CONTACT with the victim. No visits, no phone calls, no texts, no social media messages, no hand-written letters, and no messages from a third party. If you even attempt to send any form of communication to the alleged victim, law enforcement has the authority to arrest you and charge you with the crime of Violation of Pretrial Release Conditions (VPRC). In Florida, this is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in the county jail. So instead of facing just a domestic battery as our example suggests, you would be facing the equally weighted crime of VPRC. Additionally, you will have a very difficult time getting a bond on the second charge and will likely sit in jail for several weeks or even months.
But what if the alleged victim contacts the defendant? This is not a defense to having illegal communication with the alleged victim. Just because the alleged victim may believe that the no contact order is unnecessary, does not mean that the Judge feels the same way. To get the order lifted, the alleged victim must petition the court in writing to lift the condition, a hearing will be held to let the court hear the alleged victim’s position, and the Judge will make a determination as to whether to lift the restriction. It is common in domestic cases for the alleged victim to want to have contact with the person arrested, especially when it is a loved one; however, this decision is the Judge’s to make. It is also common for the alleged victim to hire a criminal defense attorney to assist them in getting a no-contact order lifted.
Being arrested for any crime has serious consequences. And if a judge decides to release you with the order to have no contact with the allege victim, you should take that very seriously. While you or the victim may not find the allegations to be of a serious nature, the Judge only knows that you were arrested on probably cause, and a no-contact order will likely be implemented as a precaution. And though it may be terribly inconvenient, it must be respected, or your legal troubles will worsen very quickly.
For more information on No Contact orders, call the criminal defense attorneys at Hendry & Parker, P.A. for a free consultation.