Understand today’s restrictions while preparing for the hearing ahead.
Miller & Jacobs defends Fort Lauderdale respondents in protective injunction proceedings. We review the orders affecting you, identify the legal questions, and prepare the evidence needed to answer the petition.
Discuss Your Hearing Request a Case ReviewFree consultation · 954-465-8733
Serving Fort Lauderdale from our Pompano Beach office
Both partners previously served as Assistant State Attorneys
Firm-reported jury trials across both partners' careers
A partner handles each accepted matter
Identify what the court currently prohibits and when you must appear. A civil injunction and a criminal release order are separate. Willful violations of an injunction can create criminal exposure even while you are contesting the underlying allegations.
A useful hearing presentation shows which facts matter under the governing law and how they can be established. We help separate firsthand information, documents, and assumptions so your response addresses the allegations the judge must decide.
Start with your account and the original material you already have. We can help identify what else is needed.
Review the Petition With UsFor each allegation, note the date, location, people present, and any record that supports or contradicts it. Distinguish what you personally observed from what someone later told you. An accurate timeline helps identify gaps and inconsistencies.
Keep full exchanges, dates, account information, and original files. Selected screenshots can omit context or raise questions about who sent a message. Do not delete unfavorable material or try to obtain another person’s private information without authorization.
Identify who has direct knowledge of the relevant event and what they can explain. We assess which witnesses may be useful, how their attendance can be arranged, and what records are needed. A list of supportive friends is not the same as relevant testimony.
We test the relationship, conduct, timing, and other requirements for the particular injunction. The defense should answer the legal claim with admissible evidence, rather than rely only on a general denial or an unrelated dispute.
Keep evidence without creating new contact. Do not confront the petitioner or send messages to obtain a better explanation. Discuss lawful ways to collect necessary material with counsel.
A hearing is easier to prepare for when we know the exact allegation, the evidence available, and the order you must follow in the meantime.
We work through those questions with you before choosing what to present.
Check the title of the petition. These proceedings are civil matters, and the governing requirements depend on the type of protection requested. We review the specific statutory basis rather than assume all restraining orders follow the same test.
The family or household relationship and the alleged violence or imminent danger matter. The statutory relationship definition has specific rules, including an exception to the shared-residence requirement for parents of a child in common.
The court examines whether a qualifying romantic or intimate relationship existed, including its timing and continuity, together with the required violence or danger allegations. A casual acquaintance is not automatically a qualifying dating relationship.
This category requires two incidents of violence or stalking directed at the petitioner or an immediate family member, with one within six months of filing. We examine each alleged incident and the dates.
One qualifying incident can support this category, but additional statutory conditions apply. Those include a reporting-and-cooperation route or specified circumstances involving the respondent’s prison sentence and release.
We examine the alleged course of conduct, contact, communications, and context under the stalking law. The analysis is specific to what occurred and the legal requirements, including where cyberstalking is alleged.
A temporary order may be entered before the respondent is heard. The full hearing is the opportunity to answer the petition. We prepare for the disputed issues and explain the practical effect of the relief the court is being asked to enter.
Check service, the current hearing setting, and all existing restrictions. Identify any issue requiring a timely request, including missing records or a need for more preparation time.
Select relevant records and witnesses, review how evidence can be presented, and prepare questions tied to the petition. Discuss any connected criminal matter before deciding on testimony or a written response.
Present the defense, question witnesses, and address whether the legal requirements are met. If proposed terms raise practical or legal issues, bring those to the court through the proper process.
Confirm what was granted or denied, what restrictions remain, and any next steps. Discuss possible review or modification promptly. Continue following the operative order while a challenge or request is pending.
The petition states what someone alleges. An order states what the court has directed. The hearing notice tells you when and how to appear. We need each document, including attachments and later updates, to assess your position.
01 · Allegations
Keep the full version you received, including additional pages, exhibits, and any amended petition. Mark the events you dispute and the records that may clarify them. Avoid writing an argument on the original papers.
02 · Restrictions
Include temporary injunctions, later extensions, criminal release conditions, and relevant family court orders. Tell us which parts affect work, housing, children, or property. An unresolved practical problem should be addressed through lawful procedures.
03 · Attendance
Confirm the hearing date, time, division, and attendance instructions from the current notice. Keep proof of when and how you received the papers. A missing page or a request to reschedule is something to raise promptly.
Have only part of the packet? Tell us what you received and the date shown. We can identify the missing records without waiting for you to organize a finished presentation.
Broward Clerk’s injunction informationYou do not need to write a court statement before calling. Let us review the papers, current restrictions, and evidence with you, then explain the proposed scope of representation.
Mark J. Miller or Rick S. Jacobs handles each accepted matter. We explain which proceeding the representation covers and coordinate the documents, preparation, and hearing work within that agreement.
Partner
Mark’s career includes service as an Assistant State Attorney and criminal trial practice. His professional biography describes his background and reported trial experience.
Read Mark J. Miller’s biography
Partner
Rick previously served as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County. His trial work informs his approach to testimony, disputed facts, and preparation for a contested hearing.
Read Rick S. Jacobs’s biographyServing Fort Lauderdale from our Pompano Beach office: 1600 S. Federal Highway, Suite 1101, Pompano Beach, FL 33062.
954-465-8733Keep the latest orders available and raise problems early. The answers below explain the questions to review with counsel; the wording of your own order remains essential.
An agreement between the parties does not itself change the judge’s order. Follow the written restrictions unless the court changes them. If the petitioner calls or messages, preserve the communication and ask counsel how to handle it. Do not treat the contact as permission to reply or arrange a meeting.
Show counsel the injunction and any family or criminal court orders before making arrangements. A practical need does not create an exception to a restriction. Counsel can review permitted arrangements or ask the appropriate court for clarification or modification. Do not use another person to pass a message that the order prohibits you from sending.
No. A request for more time must be granted by the court. Until that happens, treat the scheduled hearing as active and comply with any temporary order. Explain promptly why more preparation time is needed, including service, witnesses, or unavailable records, so counsel can evaluate a supported request.
Read the current signed order and check for later orders that extend, modify, or dissolve it. Final injunctions do not all share one expiration period. A dismissed criminal charge, a change in the relationship, or an informal agreement does not by itself establish that the civil injunction ended.
The same events may be considered in both proceedings. Give counsel the criminal case information and any investigator contact before preparing testimony, exhibits, or a written account. The civil hearing and criminal defense require coordinated advice, including a careful review of self-incrimination concerns.
Confirm the hearing date, the scope of representation, the legal fee, and whether related criminal proceedings are included. Ask what documents and witnesses are needed and who will appear with you. Miller & Jacobs offers a free consultation and explains the proposed agreement before you decide to hire the firm.
