Practice Area - Protection Orders

Protection orders occupy a distinctive and often underestimated position in Nevada's legal framework. They are civil instruments, issued by district courts under NRS Chapter 33, that carry consequences as immediate and as serious as any criminal sanction: forced removal from the family home, restriction of contact with children, mandatory firearm surrender, and the creation of a civil court record that appears in background checks and can be introduced as evidence in parallel criminal, family law, and immigration proceedings.

Temporary orders are issued quickly and often on an ex parte basis, without notice or hearing, and the burden on the applicant is deliberately low. For the party subject to such an order, the margin for error in the legal response is narrow and the cost of a misstep is high.

An extended protection order extends the initial temporary protection order for up to two years. An extended protection order cannot be granted without notice to the adverse party and a hearing.

Lauren Gorman provides representation on both sides of protection order proceedings, bringing the analytical precision and advocacy skills of a seasoned litigator to matters that demand exactly that.

Nevada's protection order statutes establish several distinct categories of orders, each with its own eligibility requirements, jurisdictional predicate, and procedural posture. Precise characterization of the applicable order type is the foundation of any defense or advocacy strategy.

Domestic Violence Protection Orders

The most widely sought category in Nevada. Eligibility extends to current and former spouses, cohabitants, persons in a dating relationship, individuals who share a minor child, and relatives by blood or marriage. Qualifying acts include battery, assault, coercion, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and false imprisonment. A temporary protection order may be issued the same day the application is filed, on an ex parte basis, and remains in effect for up to 45 days. An extended protection order requires a noticed hearing and may remain in effect for up to two years.

Stalking and Harassment Orders

Available to individuals subjected to a course of conduct that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, harassed, or molested. No domestic relationship is required. Stalking or harassment can result in both a civil order and separate criminal prosecution.

Protection Orders for Children

A parent, guardian, or other authorized person may petition on behalf of a minor child who has been subjected to physical abuse, mental injury, sexual abuse, or sexual exploitation. These orders are distinct from custody orders but can interact significantly with pending family law proceedings.

Workplace Harassment Orders

Employers may seek protection orders on behalf of employees who have been subjected to harassment in the workplace. These orders are employer-initiated but protect named employees and may restrict a respondent's access to the workplace and its vicinity.

High-Risk Protective Orders

Nevada's red flag order framework permits a family or household member, or a law enforcement officer, to petition for an order prohibiting the subject from purchasing or possessing firearms upon a showing that the person poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to themselves or others. These orders carry immediate Second Amendment implications and are subject to their own procedural requirements.

The temporary protection order is the instrument most commonly at issue in the acute phase of a protection order proceeding. It is issued without notice to the respondent, on the basis of the applicant's sworn allegations alone, by a judge or court commissioner who reviews only one side of the factual record. The legal standard for issuance is not demanding: the court must find that there exists reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent committed the alleged acts of domestic violence or other qualifying conduct.

The order is served on the respondent, often at home or at work, and takes effect immediately upon service. Depending on the specific terms of the order, the respondent may be required to vacate the family residence, cease all contact with the protected party and any protected children, surrender firearms in their possession, and stay away from specified locations including the protected party's home, workplace, and school.

Under NRS 33.031, an extended protection order carries a mandatory prohibition on firearm possession; under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), possessing a firearm while subject to a qualifying domestic violence protection order is a federal criminal offense. Violation of a protection order, including inadvertent contact, is a misdemeanor for a first offense, with mandatory arrest and no law enforcement discretion. Subsequent violations or violations involving violence are chargeable as felonies.

Protection orders are not isolated instruments. They interact with parallel legal proceedings in ways that demand integrated strategic analysis. In divorce and custody matters, a protection order application and the findings that result from it can affect the allocation of physical custody, the terms of any parenting plan, and the court's assessment of domestic violence history under NRS 125C.0035. A finding of domestic violence creates a rebuttable presumption against awarding joint custody to the offending parent.

In criminal proceedings, the filing of a protection order application and the statements made in support of it can create a documented record that the prosecution uses to corroborate its case. Conversely, inconsistencies between the protection order application and the criminal complaint, or between the applicant's testimony at the civil hearing and subsequent testimony in a criminal proceeding, can be valuable impeachment material. Lauren manages these interactions deliberately, ensuring that the strategy in the protection order proceeding is fully coordinated with any parallel or potential criminal proceeding.

For non-citizen respondents, a finding of domestic violence in a protection order proceeding can trigger immigration consequences, including grounds of deportability and inadmissibility, that must be analyzed from the outset of representation.

Lauren also represents petitioners who need protection orders — individuals who have experienced domestic violence, stalking, or harassment and require effective legal advocacy to obtain and enforce the orders to which they are entitled. Effective petitioner representation is not simply the filing of an application; it is the construction of a complete, documented factual record that supports the issuance and, if contested, the extension of the order through a live hearing. Lauren's trial skills are as relevant in this posture as in any other.

Whether you are facing a temporary protection order that requires an immediate strategic response, contesting an extension at an upcoming hearing, or seeking an order to protect yourself or a family member, Lauren Gorman is available to provide the detailed, practical legal counsel these matters require.