Restraining Orders and Injunctions

Florida Restraining Order Lawyer | Fighter Law

Why You Need a Florida Restraining Order Lawyer

If you need to file or fight a restraining order in Florida, the experienced attorneys at Fighter Law can help. We are recognized as a top choice for anyone searching for a trusted Florida restraining order lawyer. Our attorneys handle cases across the state, particularly in Central Florida counties such as Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Volusia, Brevard, and Hillsborough.

Many lawyers and legal professionals throughout Florida refer clients to us for restraining order and injunction matters. Our experienced trial attorneys deliver results and understand the complex rules surrounding these sensitive cases.

What Is a Restraining Order or Injunction in Florida?

In Florida, a restraining order—legally referred to as an injunction—is a court order that protects one person from another. If you are a victim, you can file for protection at no cost. If you are the person being accused, you also have the right to defend yourself, free of filing fees. In either case, having a knowledgeable Florida restraining order lawyer is critical to protecting your rights.

Learn the basics of how restraining orders work in Florida, including how to file and what to expect at hearings.

Understanding Petitioners and Respondents

Petitioner: the person asking the court for protection.

Respondent: the person being accused or restrained by the petition.

Types of Florida Restraining Orders

Our firm handles all six types of restraining orders/injunctions in Florida:

1. Domestic Violence Injunction
2. Repeat Violence Injunction
3. Sexual Violence Injunction
4. Dating Violence Injunction
5. Stalking Injunction
6. Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult Injunction

Click here to learn how to GET a restraining order

Click here to learn how to FIGHT a restraining order

Free Florida Injunction Forms and Templates

How Do Florida Courts Handle Restraining Orders?

Courts handle restraining orders quickly. If your petition meets the legal standard, a judge will issue a temporary order and schedule a final hearing within 15 days. At that hearing, both parties can present evidence, call witnesses, and argue their case. An experienced Florida restraining order lawyer can dramatically impact your results.

Hearings can result in serious, life-changing consequences including removal from a shared home, loss of gun rights, or limited contact with your children. Even technical violations can lead to jail. Read more about the consequences of having an injunction placed.

Can You Seal or Expunge a Florida Restraining Order?

Yes, it is possible to remove a restraining order from public record—despite what many lawyers say. At Fighter Law, we’ve had success using Florida Rule 2.420 to make injunction records confidential. Learn more on our dedicated page: How to Seal or Expunge a Restraining Order in Florida.

Contact a Florida Restraining Order Lawyer Today

Whether you’re seeking protection or need to defend yourself, Fighter Law provides strategic, experienced legal representation. We serve clients across Florida and are trusted by judges, lawyers, and the communities we serve. Schedule your free consultation today and let us help you navigate the restraining order process with confidence.

Read our 5-star reviews or explore how we can assist with retrieving digital evidence like text messages for your hearing.

Can a person lie in a petition for an injunction?

Yes, it does happen—people can and do lie in injunction petitions. While injunctions serve an important purpose in protecting victims from real threats and violence, the system is sometimes misused. False allegations are more common than most people realize. As your Florida restraining order lawyers, we are here to help expose dishonesty and protect your rights.

Although injunctions are civil matters—not criminal—they can carry life-altering consequences that feel very much like a criminal conviction. You may lose access to your home, your children, your firearms, or your career. That’s why it’s critical to fight false accusations with the help of a skilled attorney.

Over the years, we’ve seen many reasons why someone might lie in a petition for an injunction. Common motivations include:

• Jealousy or Revenge: Ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends may seek to punish the other out of spite.

• Custody Tactics in Divorce: Some spouses believe that getting a restraining order will give them an advantage in family court or help them win custody.

• Infidelity Fallout: A partner who discovers cheating may file for an injunction out of anger or betrayal.

• Ongoing Harassment: One party may try to ruin the other’s life by repeatedly dragging them into court.

• Public Shaming: False claims can be used to humiliate the other person in open court.

• Control or Retaliation: A person may use an injunction to gain leverage—once granted, even a phone call can result in the respondent’s arrest.

• Kicking Someone Out: Some use injunctions to force the other person out of a shared home, especially during heated breakups.

• Mental Health Issues: Sadly, some petitioners lash out due to untreated emotional or psychological issues and file unjustified claims.

An experienced Florida injunction lawyer can help bring these underlying motives to light and present a strong defense at your hearing.

Which county court should I file my injunction in?

You can file for an injunction in the county where you live (either temporarily or permanently), where the respondent lives, or where the violence occurred.  There is no minimum residency requirement. You should also look into what community legal support there may be for victims of domestic violence.

Can someone use text messages to get an injunction against me?

Yes, courts often accept text messages as evidence in Florida injunction cases—but only if you authenticate them properly. Because it’s easy for someone to fake or alter texts, the court won’t consider them unless you prove who actually sent them.

To authenticate a message, you must show that the other party sent it. You can do this by pointing to specific details—like the sender’s name in the thread, references to shared facts, or testimony from someone who recognizes the number or communication style. Even circumstantial details can help link the message to the sender.

In Walker v. Harley-Anderson, 45 Fla. L. Weekly D2116a (Fla. 4th DCA 2020), the court confirmed that context and supporting facts can establish authenticity without direct confirmation. You don’t need a confession—just enough reliable indicators to show the judge the messages are real.

If texts are central to your case, work with a Florida restraining order lawyer who knows how to present digital evidence the right way. A strong presentation can make the difference between winning and losing your case.

Will the court drop an injunction if the petitioner fails to show up for the final hearing?

Usually, yes.  Absent exceptional circumstances, the court will usually dismiss or throw out the injunction and the respondent will be free to go. As your go-to Orlando injunction attorney, we can tell which judges are likely to do this – and which are not!

What happens if the respondent does not show at the final injunction hearing?

If the petitioner indicates to the court that he or she still wants the injunction, the court will usually grant the petition and enter an injunction against the respondent.  The court will want to see proof that the respondent was served with notice of the hearing, however.

Can a party (or parties) ask the court to amend or dismiss an injunction that the judge has entered?

Yes.  Florida law specifically allows for that.  The party (or parties) must petition the court to modify or dissolve the injunction.  But be warned – the injunction will NOT be considered amended or dismissed until the judge signs an order indicated such.

What actions can the court take against me if it enters an injunction?

The court has the authority to order you not to have any contact with the petitioner, to order you to attend classes (including the batterer’s intervention program), to prohibit you owning or possessing any firearms, to have supervised visitation with any children in common and any other conditions the court deems necessary to protect the petitioner.

How can I use social media posts?

To get a judge to enter a social media post into evidence (so it can be considered for the injunction), you must authenticate it.  The court wants to make sure that it is not a fake and that it actually what you say it is.   Proper authentication requires only that the proponent of the evidence make out a prima facie case that the proffered evidence is what it purports to be.

You can request a subpoena for business records to Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.  Simply call the custodian of records for any of those companies, but that is not really realistic.  Another option is to use a screenshot. You can then testify that the screenshot is what you saw on social media when the other person posted it.

You can authenticate evidence by its appearance, content, substance, internal patterns, or other distinctive characteristics considered alongside the circumstances. Additionally, you can authenticate the evidence by presenting extrinsic proof or demonstrating that it meets the requirements for self-authentication. Lamb v. State, 246 So. 3d 400 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018).

Authentication for the purpose of admission is generally a low threshold.  A witness just has to say they took the picture or they know the picture is what it purports to be.  The reliability of it (and hence, how much weight to give it) is up to the judge in civil injunction cases.

Here are two recent cases on point:

In Facebook Messenger Gilbert v. State, No. 2D19-1622, 2021 WL 2385832 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021), the victim authenticated the screenshots of the conversation with the defendant by testifying about their extensive history of communicating over Facebook Messenger. The victim confirmed that the defendant’s real name and profile picture appeared in the screenshots and that the messages referred to details only they would know. The court found this sufficient for authentication.

In State v. Torres, 304 So. 3d 781 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020), the court determined that the trial court should not have excluded screenshots of text messages from a messaging app. The appellate court ruled that the contents and distinctive characteristics of the messages satisfied the prima facie requirement for authentication. The court concluded that the State presented enough evidence to show that the other party authored the messages.

How to Admit Text Messages or Emails into Evidence at the Final Injunction Hearing

To admit text messages or emails into evidence, ask the court to direct the clerk to issue a subpoena to the custodians of records for services like Gmail or cell phone providers. When the opposing party sees that you’ve taken this step, they often back down, realizing that you’re serious and prepared to prove your case. If they don’t, you will need to follow through with the process.

Once you obtain the records, you must provide them to the opposing party before the hearing. During the hearing, testify that you received the messages and confirm that they are the ones you received. You can also present screenshots of the texts or emails, which should suffice.

To authenticate the text or email, testify that you know the other party uses the specific phone number or email address. Alternatively, show the court that the email address includes the person’s name or that it comes from an address difficult to fake (such as a university .edu address). If you present circumstances that confirm the message’s authenticity, the court is likely to admit it into evidence—giving you a significant advantage, whether you are the petitioner or the respondent.

What Happens If I Am Not Served with the Injunction?

The court must serve you for the injunction process to proceed. Due process requires the respondent to receive the injunction papers before the final hearing. If the court never serves you, the injunction is unenforceable, meaning you cannot violate it. If the court enters a final order without serving you, that is a reversible error and should be undone. Contact our Orlando injunction attorney for legal guidance if this happens.

Here are 3 great videos that explain various injunction scenarios:

Orange County Specific Injunction Guidance:

Click here for Orange County Injunction Petition Forms. 

Please click on this image below to learn more about injunction specifically in Orange County, Florida directly from an Orlando injunction attorney.