Can you appeal an Order of Protection in Missouri? Chris Combs and Steve Waterkotte discuss appealing an Order of Protection or Ex Parte in Missouri.
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Scott Michael Dunn: Let’s say, like you presented it, the situation occurs and they think it’s no big deal. So they go to the hearing and now they’re compromised. The defendant or the respondent is like, “I should have called earlier. Is there anything I can do? How can I appeal this order of protection?”
Steve Waterkotte: It’s funny you say that, because we probably get a couple calls each week [from] somebody in that exact situation. [They] thought it wasn’t a big deal.
I get this one a lot: “These were BS allegations. I didn’t think I needed a lawyer. Truth is on my side,” which is probably all the more reason to get a lawyer, right? But I get that one a lot. We get probably three, four calls a week, folks that walked out of the courtroom and say “I didn’t think I needed a lawyer.” And they went to the hearing and the order of protection was granted for a period of usually one year or more. And they’re calling to try to undo this now.
I always tell them, “Unfortunately this process got a lot more complicated and expensive.” Because now, like you just mentioned, we’re talking about appeals.
There’s really only two things. We can do a motion to set that aside. Which generally, in most cases, is not going to be effective. You’re asking the judge to undo their ruling. It’s like a parent that grounds a child, and then, your child comes and says, “Hey, can you vacate your decision?”
Scott Michael Dunn: It’s like telling a judge, “Oh, you were wrong.”
Steve Waterkotte: Yeah. And them saying, “Yep, you were right, and I’m overturning it.” But that is a possibility. We filed them in some cases when [there are] certain unique facts, circumstances.
An appeal goes to a higher court. So you start at the trial court. Let’s say we’re in St. Louis County. Now, if you have to appeal, you’re appealing to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. It’s typically a nine month process, give or take. Like I said, it becomes a lot more expensive, a lot more time consuming, and a lot more complex to try to undo what the judge already ruled on.
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