What Is A No Contact Order And What Does It Mean?

In Florida, a No Contact Order is a restriction ordered by the court that prohibits a defendant from contacting, either directly or indirectly, an alleged victim. This restriction remains in place for the duration of a criminal case or until it is lifted or modified by the court via a court order.

What exactly does this means? It means that a defendant is prohibited from the following:

• Having any interaction whatsoever with the alleged victim. This includes contacting the alleged victim by email, telephone, text message, facsimile transmission or written postal communication.

• Sending or having delivered to the alleged victim any packages, gifts or even floral arrangements.

• Social media interactions including Facebook posts, messages and comments, tweets through Twitter, communications through LinkedIn and any communication through any form of social media. These are all considered “contact” that would violate a No Contact Order.

• The defendant cannot be intentionally be in the alleged victim’s vicinity and cannot touch or even make a gesture towards the alleged victim.

And that’s not all! There are issues regarding “indirect” contact which are also prohibited by Florida law. This means that the defendant cannot try to contact the alleged victim through another channel or third party, such as a friend or a family member. These types of indirect contact are also violations of a No Contact Order.

But what if the alleged victim agrees to see or speak with the defendant? And what if the alleged victim gets in touch with the defendant? Does that cancel the No Contact Order or make it O.K. to communicate? Absolutely not! Just because the other party gives their consent, it does not lift a No Contact Order because only the court can modify or lift a No Contact Order.

Violating a No Contact Order is a serious matter in Florida. If you looking to modify or lift a No Contact Order in Palm Beach or Broward County, call the Misdemeanor Clinic at (561) 621-0020 today or visit our website at www.misdemeanorclinic.com.