If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Local 24-hour domestic violence advocacy and shelter are available in Polk County through Peace River Center [PLACEHOLDER — verify and add current hotline number before launch]. This page is general information, not a safety plan.
What counts as domestic violence in Florida
Fla. Stat. § 741.28 defines domestic violence as assault, battery, sexual assault or battery, stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death, committed by one family or household member against another — spouses and former spouses, people related by blood or marriage, people who live or have lived together as a family, and parents of a shared child regardless of marriage. A person who has reasonable cause to believe they are in imminent danger of becoming a victim can also petition — actual injury is not a prerequisite.
Florida actually provides five distinct injunctions for protection: domestic violence (§ 741.30), and — for situations outside the household relationship — repeat violence, dating violence, and sexual violence (§ 784.046), and stalking (§ 784.0485). Choosing the right petition matters; the wrong one gets dismissed on definitions before the facts are ever heard.
How the injunction process works
- The petition. Filed with the clerk — in Polk County, through the circuit court — describing specific incidents: dates, acts, injuries, threats. Specificity is the difference between an order and a denial; "we fight a lot" is not a legal ground, while dated, concrete events are.
- The ex parte temporary injunction. A judge reviews the petition the same day, without the other side present. If it states sufficient grounds, a temporary injunction issues immediately — effective for up to 15 days, with a full hearing set before it expires.
- The final hearing. Both sides appear, testify, and present evidence. The judge decides whether to enter a final injunction — which can remain in effect for a fixed period or indefinitely, subject to later motions to modify or dissolve.
A final injunction can do far more than order no contact: it can exclude the respondent from the shared home, establish temporary time-sharing with children and temporary support, require the surrender of firearms and ammunition, and mandate a batterers' intervention program. Violating an injunction is a crime, enforced by arrest — it is a court order with teeth.
For petitioners — and for respondents
Shelley represents people on both sides of these cases, because both genuinely need counsel. For a petitioner, the challenge is turning fear into admissible proof, fast — and coordinating the injunction with a divorce or parenting case that often follows, where the finding of violence carries real weight (including against the equal time-sharing presumption). For a respondent, a final injunction has lasting consequences: your home, your children, your firearms rights, your record in every future family proceeding. An injunction hearing happens within about two weeks of the petition, and walking into it unrepresented is how fifteen minutes of testimony becomes years of consequences. Neither role gets judgment here; both get preparation.
Key law: Fla. Stat. § 741.28 (definitions); § 741.30 (domestic violence injunctions); § 784.046 (repeat, dating, and sexual violence); § 784.0485 (stalking).
Common questions about injunctions
Often the same day. A judge reviews the petition ex parte — without a hearing — and can issue a temporary injunction immediately if the petition alleges sufficient grounds. That temporary order lasts up to 15 days, by which time the full hearing is held. There is no fee to file a domestic violence injunction petition.
Take it seriously and take it to counsel — quickly. Obey the temporary order to the letter (contact "just to talk it out" is a criminal violation), gather your evidence, and prepare for the final hearing, which is your one real chance to be heard before a lasting order enters. Agreed resolutions are sometimes possible; ignoring the hearing never is.
Substantially. A finding of domestic violence weighs into the best-interests factors, can defeat the presumption of equal time-sharing, and can affect exclusive use of the home while the divorce is pending. The injunction case and the family case should be handled as one coordinated strategy, not two separate fires.
You can still petition. Courts regularly grant injunctions based on threats, stalking, and patterns that put a person in reasonable fear of imminent violence — corroborated by texts, voicemails, witnesses, and your own specific testimony. No police report is required, though contemporaneous records of any kind help.
Yes — either party may move to modify or dissolve an injunction, and courts revisit them when circumstances genuinely change. Until a judge signs an order changing it, though, the injunction means exactly what it says, no matter what the parties informally agree between themselves.
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