Source: https://withoutmyconsent.org/50state/state-guides/illinois/restraining-orders
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 07:54:13+00:00

Document:
Stalking No Contact Order Act – 740 ILCS 21/1 et seq.
Illinois’s Stalking No Contact Order Act provides a civil remedy for victims of stalking that are unable to obtain an order for protection under the Domestic Violence Act.1 The order requires the offender to stay away from the victim and other protected third parties. Stalking is defined broadly to include any conduct that would cause a reasonable person to fear for her/his safety, or the safety of a third person. “Stalking behavior includes following a person, conducting surveillance of the person, appearing at the person’s home, work or school, making unwanted phone calls, sending unwanted emails or text messages, leaving objects for the person, vandalizing the person’s property, or injuring a pet.”2 While it is not clear whether the use of graphic photographs and/or videos of a person without that person’s consent would alone warrant a Stalking No Contact Order, such unauthorized use is often accompanied by harassing emails, texts and phone calls.
Stalking generally refers to a course of conduct, not a single act. Stalking behavior includes following a person, conducting surveillance of the person, appearing at the person’s home, work or school, making unwanted phone calls, sending unwanted emails or text messages, leaving objects for the person, vandalizing the person’s property, or injuring a pet. Stalking is a serious crime. Victims experience fear for their safety, fear for the safety of others and suffer emotional distress. Many victims alter their daily routines to avoid the persons who are stalking them. Some victims are in such fear that they relocate to another city, town or state. While estimates suggest that 70% of victims know the individuals stalking them, only 30% of victims have dated or been in intimate relationships with their stalkers. All stalking victims should be able to seek a civil remedy requiring the offenders stay away from the victims and third parties.
“Course of conduct” means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which a respondent directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person, engages in other contact, or interferes with or damages a person’s property or pet. A course of conduct may include contact via electronic communications. The incarceration of a person in a penal institution who commits the course of conduct is not a bar to prosecution under this Section.
“Emotional distress” means significant mental suffering, anxiety or alarm.
“Contact” includes any contact with the victim, that is initiated or continued without the victim’s consent, or that is in disregard of the victim’s expressed desire that the contact be avoided or discontinued, including but not limited to being in the physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight of the victim; approaching or confronting the victim in a public place or on private property; appearing at the workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.
“Stalking” means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person, and he or she knows or should know that this course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third person or suffer emotional distress. Stalking does not include an exercise of the right to free speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful or picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor dispute, including any controversy concerning wages, salaries, hours, working conditions or benefits, including health and welfare, sick leave, insurance, and pension or retirement provisions, the making or maintaining of collective bargaining agreements, and the terms to be included in those agreements.
§ 15. Persons protected by this Act.
by a person on behalf of a minor child or an adult who is a victim of stalking but, because of age, disability, health, or inaccessibility, cannot file the petition.
§ 20. Commencement of action; filing fees.
in conjunction with a delinquency petition or a criminal prosecution, by filing a petition for a stalking no contact order under the same case number as the delinquency petition or criminal prosecution, to be granted during pre-trial release of a defendant, with any dispositional order issued under Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or as a condition of release, supervision, conditional discharge, probation, periodic imprisonment, parole, aftercare release, or mandatory supervised release, or in conjunction with imprisonment or a bond forfeiture warrant, provided that (i) the violation is alleged in an information, complaint, indictment, or delinquency petition on file and the alleged victim is a person protected by this Act, and (ii) the petition, which is filed by the State’s Attorney, names a victim of the alleged crime as a petitioner.
§ 25. Pleading; non-disclosure of address.
(a) A petition for a stalking no contact order shall be in writing and verified or accompanied by affidavit and shall allege that the petitioner has been the victim of stalking by the respondent.
(b) If the petition states that disclosure of the petitioner’s address would risk abuse of the petitioner or any member of the petitioner’s family or household, that address may be omitted from all documents filed with the court. If the petitioner has not disclosed an address under this subsection, the petitioner shall designate an alternative address at which the respondent may serve notice of any motions.
§ 30. Application of rules of civil procedure; victim advocates.
(a) Any proceeding to obtain, modify, reopen or appeal a stalking no contact order shall be governed by the rules of civil procedure of this State. The standard of proof in such a proceeding is proof by a preponderance of the evidence. The Code of Civil Procedure and Supreme Court and local court rules applicable to civil proceedings shall apply, except as otherwise provided by this Act.
(b) In circuit courts, victim advocates shall be allowed to accompany the petitioner and confer with the petitioner, unless otherwise directed by the court. Court administrators shall allow victim advocates to assist victims of stalking in the preparation of petitions for stalking no contact orders. Victim advocates are not engaged in the unauthorized practice of law when providing assistance of the types specified in this subsection (b).
§ 35. Appointment of counsel.
The court may appoint counsel to represent the petitioner if the respondent is represented by counsel.
A petition for a stalking no contact order shall be treated as an expedited proceeding, and no court may transfer or otherwise decline to decide all or part of such petition. Nothing in this Section shall prevent the court from reserving issues if jurisdiction or notice requirements are not met.
(a) Petitions for emergency remedies shall be granted or denied in accordance with the standards of Section 100, regardless of the respondent’s appearance or presence in court.
(b) Any action for a stalking no contact order is an expedited proceeding. Continuances shall be granted only for good cause shown and kept to the minimum reasonable duration, taking into account the reasons for the continuance.
§ 80. Stalking no contact orders; remedies.
(a) If the court finds that the petitioner has been a victim of stalking, a stalking no contact order shall issue; provided that the petitioner must also satisfy the requirements of Section 95 on emergency orders or Section 100 on plenary orders. The petitioner shall not be denied a stalking no contact order because the petitioner or the respondent is a minor. The court, when determining whether or not to issue a stalking no contact order, may not require physical injury on the person of the petitioner. Modification and extension of prior stalking no contact orders shall be in accordance with this Act.
order other injunctive relief the court determines to be necessary to protect the petitioner or third party specifically named by the court.
(c) The court may award the petitioner costs and attorneys fees if a stalking no contact order is granted.
(d) Monetary damages are not recoverable as a remedy.
(e) If the stalking no contact order prohibits the respondent from possessing a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card, or possessing or buying firearms; the court shall confiscate the respondent’s Firearm Owner’s Identification Card and immediately return the card to the Department of State Police Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Office.
§ 85. Mutual stalking no contact orders are prohibited.
Correlative separate orders undermine the purposes of this Act. If separate orders are sought, both must comply with all provisions of this Act.
§ 95. Emergency stalking no contact order.
there is good cause to grant the remedy, regardless of prior service of process or of notice upon the respondent, because the harm which that remedy is intended to prevent would be likely to occur if the respondent were given any prior notice, or greater notice than was actually given, of the petitioner’s efforts to obtain judicial relief. An emergency stalking no contact order shall be issued by the court if it appears from the contents of the petition and the examination of the petitioner that the averments are sufficient to indicate stalking by the respondent and to support the granting of relief under the issuance of the stalking no contact order. An emergency stalking no contact order shall be issued if the court finds that items (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection (a) are met.
§ 100. Plenary stalking no contact order.
the respondent has answered or is in default.
§ 105. Duration and extension of orders.
(a) Unless re-opened or extended or voided by entry of an order of greater duration, an emergency order shall be effective for not less than 14 nor more than 21 days.
permanent if a judgment of conviction for stalking is entered.
(c) Any emergency or plenary order may be extended one or more times, as required, provided that the requirements of Section 95 or 100, as appropriate, are satisfied. If the motion for extension is uncontested and the petitioner seeks no modification of the order, the order may be extended on the basis of the petitioner’s motion or affidavit stating that there has been no material change in relevant circumstances since entry of the order and stating the reason for the requested extension. Extensions may be granted only in open court and not under the provisions of subsection (c) of Section 95, which applies only when the court is unavailable at the close of business or on a court holiday.
Procedural Posture: Respondent appeals the trial court’s entry of a plenary stalking no contact order.
Facts: Respondent Escobar, current girlfriend of Piester’s ex-boyfriend, observed and recorded Piester at work and home and harassed and threatened her on social media. Piester was fearful of Escobar’s behavior and had to alter her schedule to avoid her.
A petition for a Stalking No Contact Order is filed independently, therefore WMC victims suffering from harassment and fear for their safety should file for a Stalking No Contact Order immediately, and not wait while assessing the viability of other remedies.
Victims of nonconsensual online publication of sexually explicit material may be able to obtain an order of protection (“OOP”) that prohibits the perpetrator from continuing to harass the victim online. A victim seeking an OOP must be trying to protect themselves or family members from domestic violence or abuse, including harassment, by a “family or household member,” which is generally defined as someone with whom the victim lives or lived, caretakers, or someone with whom the victim has or had a sexual relationship or dated for any period of time or have a child together through a blood relationship.
Recognize domestic violence against high risk adults with disabilities, who are particularly vulnerable due to impairments in ability to seek or obtain protection, as a serious problem which takes on many forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and facilitate accessibility of remedies under the Act in order to provide immediate and effective assistance and protection.
Expand the civil and criminal remedies for victims of domestic violence; including, when necessary, the remedies which effect physical separation of the parties to prevent further abuse.
(1) “Abuse” means physical abuse, harassment, intimidation of a dependent, interference with personal liberty or willful deprivation but does not include reasonable direction of a minor child by a parent or person in loco parentis.
(2) “Adult with disabilities” means an elder adult with disabilities or a high-risk adult with disabilities. A person may be an adult with disabilities for purposes of this Act even though he or she has never been adjudicated an incompetent adult. However, no court proceeding may be initiated or continued on behalf of an adult with disabilities over that adult’s objection, unless such proceeding is approved by his or her legal guardian, if any.
(3) “Domestic violence” means abuse as defined in paragraph (1).
(4) “Elder adult with disabilities” means an adult prevented by advanced age from taking appropriate action to protect himself or herself from abuse by a family or household member.
5) “Exploitation” means the illegal, including tortious, use of a high-risk adult with disabilities or of the assets or resources of a high-risk adult with disabilities. Exploitation includes, but is not limited to, the misappropriation of assets or resources of a high-risk adult with disabilities by undue influence, by breach of a fiduciary relationship, by fraud, deception, or extortion, or the use of such assets or resources in a manner contrary to law.
(6) “Family or household members” include spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have or allegedly have a child in common, persons who share or allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship, persons with disabilities and their personal assistants, and caregivers as defined in Section 12-4.4a of the Criminal Code of 2012.1 For purposes of this paragraph, neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating relationship. In the case of a high-risk adult with disabilities, “family or household members” includes any person who has the responsibility for a high-risk adult as a result of a family relationship or who has assumed responsibility for all or a portion of the care of a high-risk adult with disabilities voluntarily, or by express or implied contract, or by court order.
threatening physical force, confinement or restraint on one or more occasions.
(8) “High-risk adult with disabilities” means a person aged 18 or over whose physical or mental disability impairs his or her ability to seek or obtain protection from abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
(9) “Interference with personal liberty” means committing or threatening physical abuse, harassment, intimidation or willful deprivation so as to compel another to engage in conduct from which she or he has a right to abstain or to refrain from conduct in which she or he has a right to engage.
(10) “Intimidation of a dependent” means subjecting a person who is dependent because of age, health or disability to participation in or the witnessing of: physical force against another or physical confinement or restraint of another which constitutes physical abuse as defined in this Act, regardless of whether the abused person is a family or household member.
the failure to protect a high-risk adult with disabilities from health and safety hazards.
(11)(B) Nothing in this subsection (10) shall be construed to impose a requirement that assistance be provided to a high-risk adult with disabilities over his or her objection in the absence of a court order, nor to create any new affirmative duty to provide support to a high-risk adult with disabilities.
(12) “Order of protection” means an emergency order, interim order or plenary order, granted pursuant to this Act, which includes any or all of the remedies authorized by Section 214 of this Act.
(13) “Petitioner” may mean not only any named petitioner for the order of protection and any named victim of abuse on whose behalf the petition is brought, but also any other person protected by this Act.
knowing or reckless conduct which creates an immediate risk of physical harm.
(14.5) “Stay away” means for the respondent to refrain from both physical presence and nonphysical contact with the petitioner whether direct, indirect (including, but not limited to, telephone calls, mail, email, faxes, and written notes), or through third parties who may or may not know about the order of protection.
(15) “Willful deprivation” means willfully denying a person who because of age, health or disability requires medication, medical care, shelter, accessible shelter or services, food, therapeutic device, or other physical assistance, and thereby exposing that person to the risk of physical, mental or emotional harm, except with regard to medical care or treatment when the dependent person has expressed an intent to forgo such medical care or treatment. This paragraph does not create any new affirmative duty to provide support to dependent persons.
(a) Issuance of order. If the court finds that petitioner has been abused by a family or household member or that petitioner is a high-risk adult who has been abused, neglected, or exploited, as defined in this Act, an order of protection prohibiting the abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall issue; provided that petitioner must also satisfy the requirements of one of the following Sections, as appropriate: Section 217 on emergency orders, Section 218 on interim orders, or Section 219 on plenary orders. Petitioner shall not be denied an order of protection because petitioner or respondent is a minor. The court, when determining whether or not to issue an order of protection, shall not require physical manifestations of abuse on the person of the victim. Modification and extension of prior orders of protection shall be in accordance with this Act.
(b) Prohibition of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Prohibit respondent’s harassment, interference with personal liberty, intimidation of a dependent, physical abuse, or willful deprivation, neglect or exploitation, as defined in this Act, or stalking of the petitioner, as defined in Section 12-7.3 of the Criminal Code of 2012,1 if such abuse, neglect, exploitation, or stalking has occurred or otherwise appears likely to occur if not prohibited.
(ii) the danger that any minor child will be abused or neglected or improperly removed from the jurisdiction, improperly concealed within the State or improperly separated from the child’s primary caretaker.
An emergency order may not include the counseling, legal custody, payment of support or monetary compensation remedies.
(b) Appearance by respondent. If respondent appears in court for this hearing for an emergency order, he or she may elect to file a general appearance and testify. Any resulting order may be an emergency order, governed by this Section. Notwithstanding the requirements of this Section, if all requirements of Section 218 have been met, the court may issue a 30-day interim order.
(iii) any other remedy when the act constitutes a crime against the protected parties as defined by the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012.
remedies described in paragraphs (5), (6) or (8) of subsection (b) of Section 214 of this Act.
(b) When violation is contempt of court. A violation of any valid Illinois order of protection, whether issued in a civil or criminal proceeding, may be enforced through civil or criminal contempt procedures, as appropriate, by any court with jurisdiction, regardless where the act or acts which violated the order of protection were committed, to the extent consistent with the venue provisions of this Act. Nothing in this Act shall preclude any Illinois court from enforcing any valid order of protection issued in another state. Illinois courts may enforce orders of protection through both criminal prosecution and contempt proceedings, unless the action which is second in time is barred by collateral estoppel or the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy.
In a contempt proceeding where the petition for a rule to show cause sets forth facts evidencing an immediate danger that the respondent will flee the jurisdiction, conceal a child, or inflict physical abuse on the petitioner or minor children or on dependent adults in petitioner’s care, the court may order the attachment of the respondent without prior service of the rule to show cause or the petition for a rule to show cause. Bond shall be set unless specifically denied in writing.
A petition for a rule to show cause for violation of an order of protection shall be treated as an expedited proceeding.
(b-2) The court may hold the parents, guardian, or legal custodian of a minor respondent in civil or criminal contempt for a violation of any provision of any order entered under this Act for conduct of the minor respondent in violation of this Act if the parents, guardian, or legal custodian directed, encouraged, or assisted the respondent minor in such conduct.
By service, delivery, or notice under Section 210.
By notice under Section 210.1 or 211.
By service of an order of protection under Section 222.
By other means demonstrating actual knowledge of the contents of the order.
The existence of a separate, correlative order, entered under Section 215.
Any finding or order entered in a conjoined criminal proceeding.
(e) Circumstances. The court, when determining whether or not a violation of an order of protection has occurred, shall not require physical manifestations of abuse on the person of the victim.
Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, where the court finds the commission of a crime or contempt of court under subsections (a) or (b) of this Section, the penalty shall be the penalty that generally applies in such criminal or contempt proceedings, and may include one or more of the following: incarceration, payment of restitution, a fine, payment of attorneys’ fees and costs, or community service.
The court shall hear and take into account evidence of any factors in aggravation or mitigation before deciding an appropriate penalty under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
unless the court explicitly finds that an increased penalty or that period of imprisonment would be manifestly unjust.
(iii) to revoke or modify a sentence of periodic imprisonment, pursuant to Section 5-7-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
In addition to any other penalties, the court shall impose an additional fine of $20 as authorized by Section 5-9-1.11 of the Unified Code of Corrections9 upon any person convicted of or placed on supervision for a violation of an order of protection. The additional fine shall be imposed for each violation of this Section.
Procedural Posture: Defendant appealed jury conviction finding violation of an OOP under Section 12-30 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS § 5/12-30).
Facts: Defendant and victim were married and later separated. Soon after, their marriage was dissolved. The victim sought dissolution, custody of their children, and obtained an OOP against Defendant. Defendant was charged with a violation of the order of protection because, having notice of the order, he intentionally committed an act prohibited by the order: sending a written note to the home of the victim with the intent to harass her.
There are temporary OOP and permanent OOP. In general, a temporary OOP offers a victim protection from the time a complaint is filed until the court hearing that is required to obtain a permanent OOP. The hearing usually takes place within a few weeks. Temporary OOP can be granted if the judge believes the defendant has abused the victim and/or the victim’s children, and that there is a danger of further abuse. A temporary OOP can be an ex parte order, but the abuser will learn of it once he or she is served.
A permanent OOP is designed to offer a victim longer-lasting and more comprehensive protection than a temporary OOP. A permanent OOP can be issued only after a court hearing in which the victim and the abuser have a chance to tell both sides of the story–presenting evidence and witnesses. Most OPP expire after one year, but victims can apply to extend them, and the court can alter them upon a showing of changed circumstances by either of the parties.

References: § 15

§ 20

§ 25

§ 30

§ 35

§ 80

§ 85

§ 95

§ 100

§ 105
 § 5