You may have heard someone say a Protection From ABuse Order (PFA) is "just a pience of paper." That couldn't be farther from the truth. A PFA, whether temporarily granted or put in place for a set period of time prevents you from having ANY contact with the portected party. If contact is alleged, even as small as running into the protected party at a grocery store, the police are given an automatic right to arrest you, hold you on bail, evict you from your home, and even lead to a criminal conviction. It's important to know your rights to protect yourself from the serious consequences should a PFA be filed against you.