Temporary restraining orders are easy to obtain: judges routinely issue TROs in civil harassment cases based on short, one-sided, and often grossly inaccurate petitions drafted by lawyers and non-lawyers alike. Yet the consequences of civil harassment restraining orders are severe as restrained parties face criminal penalties for violating restraining orders, must surrender their firearms in certain states (including California), and are exposed to reputational injury due to the public nature of these proceedings. If a temporary restraining order has been issued against you, hiring counsel to avoid the issuance of a permanent restraining order is money well spent.

Sweigart Murdock’s partners have succeeded in defending clients in civil harassment cases in courts across the country. Our restraining order defense clients have included journalists, political party leaders, and activists, all of whom were targeted with restraining orders by adversaries seeking to silence them. Some lawyers are quick to recommend one-sided settlements in which parties voluntarily agree to significant limits on what they can say and do. As seasoned trial attorneys, we do not shy away from courtroom battles to ensure that our clients’ freedoms are not curtailed by false allegations.

Our experience in First Amendment and anti-SLAPP law gives us an additional edge. In California and various other states, First Amendment-protected speech cannot form the basis for a restraining order, and restraining order petitions based on protected speech fall within the anti-SLAPP statute. We have therefore succeeded not only in securing the dismissal of restraining order petitions at trial, but we have also defeated such petitions with anti-SLAPP motions, entitling our clients to awards of attorney’s fees and costs in the tens of thousands of dollars.