An Extreme Risk Protection Order, or ERPO, comes from the Extreme Risk Protective Order Act of 2018. In that act, it established a method of preventing the respondent from possessing, purchasing, owning or receiving ammunition or firearms. It also stops the respondent from holding or securing a permit to purchase a handgun, a permit to carry a handgun or a firearms purchaser identification card.
This order is not enough to prevent or stop domestic violence in and of itself. It may be combined with another restraining order or protective order. For example, a temporary restraining order allows for the seizure of firearms as well as for removing the defendant from the property. It prohibits them from returning to the scene as well.
How can an ERPO help if you have a final restraining order?
An ERPO can help if you have a final restraining order by adding on to the protections that the restraining order provides. Your final restraining order may allow you to have possession of your residence or prevent the defendant from coming to your children’s school or your place of employment. The ERPO can make it further possible to remove deadly firearms from their possession.
How do you petition for a temporary extreme risk protective order?
If you want to petition for a temporary ERPO, there are a few ways to do so. You have the option of filing a petition at the Criminal Division of the Superior Court, through the aid of a police officer who files it with the court, or through other people who ask a law enforcement agency to file a petition. If the petition is going to be made against an officer, then it has to be filed at the officer’s place of employment.
Once the order is approved, a search warrant may be issued by the court to search the respondent’s property for weapon(s) and ammunition, but only in cases where the court believes that probable cause exists with a need to do so. This is something you can discuss with your attorney if you would like an ERPO to protect yourself and those you love.
