“Legal Briefs” appears in e-Inside to keep faculty and staff informed of legal issues and their implications. An archive of past Legal Briefs is available online.
As a faculty or staff member, you may encounter a situation where you will be working with a student or co-worker that is the subject of, or has been granted, a protection or restraining order. This legal brief provides a general overview of what to do if you are faced with this situation.
There are several general types of Protection Orders, including:
- Temporary Protection Order (TPO) - Granted by a judge in a criminal case; dismissed at the end of the case.
- Civil Protection Order (CPO) - Granted by Domestic Relations Court, parties must have intimate relationship or be the family of a partner. The order lasts five years and a recent physical act of violence or direct threat must have occurred.
- Civil Anti-Stalking Protection Order (SPO) -Granted in Common Pleas Court; no intimate relationship between parties; order lasts one to five years; requires recent incidents of physical violence/direct threats and mental distress.
- Sexually Oriented Offense Protection Order (SOOPO) - Granted in Common Pleas Court; can be intimate or non-intimate relationship; order lasts one to five years; requires sexually oriented incident.
- Restraining Order – Typically granted by Domestic Relations Court in divorce/separation cases; lasts for duration of case.
- No Contact Order - Issued by judge as condition of pre-trial release; lasts for duration of case or until modified by the court.
If an individual has been granted a protection order, it is their responsibility to alert local law enforcement if the order has been violated. Any Kent State student or employee who has been granted a protection order is strongly encouraged to notify their campus’ local law enforcement (the Kent State police department on the Kent Campus). Notifying law enforcement ahead of time can make the process a little smoother if the order is violated and needs to be enforced.
The exceptions to this are Restraining and No Contact Orders. In those instances, the court that granted the order should be notified of any violation rather than law enforcement. However, as always, please contact law enforcement in any dangerous or potentially harmful situation.
Kent State also has policy 4-02.101(E), which authorizes the vice president of Enrollment, Management and Students Affairs to grant a type of No Contact Order that applies to students that pose a risk to the safety or well-being of other students. A violation of a university-issued No Contact Order should be reported to the Kent State police department if on the Kent Campus, or a regional campus’ security staff.
There may be a situation where a student or employee will be working or attending class with an individual they have been granted a protection or restraining order against. If that occurs, the Office of General Counsel is available to advise university staff on reaching a solution that considers the terms of the Order as well as the rights of both individuals. You can contact the Office of General Counsel at 330-672-2982 or legal@kent.edu.