法律英语：86 Injunctions and Restraining Orders

by Michael W. Flynn

 

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed 1 to practice in your jurisdiction 2. Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Today I answer a good basic question from Maryanne from Phoenix 3:

I am always reading about injunctions in the news – that some group “got an injunction.” What does it mean to get an injunction? And how does the group get one?

An injunction is an equitable 4 remedy that comes in the form of an order by a court. The order will direct a person to do something, or refrain from doing something. A common example is an injunction that orders a person to stop harassing 5 another person, by staying a certain number of feet away from the harassed 6 person, or that prohibits the harasser 7 from contacting his victim.

One major purpose that injunctions serve is to guarantee some remedy where money will not solve the problem. So, imagine that the harasser constantly calls his victim and shouts obscenities and threats. While the victim might later recover monetary 8 damages for the distress 9, the victim is more interested in stopping the harassment 10 and not suffering at all than in suffering and getting paid later. So, the law provides the injunction to give courts the power to stop a person from harassing.

Injunctions come in different shapes and sizes, and different procedures are used to obtain them. A common example is a temporary restraining order that freezes the status quo for a short period of time pending 11 the court being able to look at the evidence and determine what should happen. For example, if a person is trying to sell property and transfer title, but another person claims that he has a percentage interest in that property, the court will issue a temporary restraining order to stop the sale until the court can look at all the evidence about who actually owns it and makes a decision.

Permanent injunctions are longer term, but not always actually permanent. A judge might issue a permanent injunction against a company from dumping chemicals into a river after a case where it is determined 12 that the company broke the law in dumping.

Most often, to get an injunction before something happens, you have to present pretty good proof. You have to show that, if an injunction is not issued, you will face irreparable harm, or some sort of damage that no later case against the wrongdoer will fully 13 fix. Take the property sale example – if the sale happens, then the person who had the percentage ownership cannot ever get that property back. He might get paid for it, but he no longer has that unique piece of land that he holds near and dear for some reason.

You must also present evidence that you are more likely than not to prevail in the upcoming case.

Injunctions are powerful tools because, once issued, the police and other authorities can enforce them. Also, the court can hold someone violating an injunction in criminal or civil contempt, which can carry large fines and imprisonment 14.

One hot topic in injunctions today is “gang injunctions.” They are injunctions that order people to refrain from associating with certain other people who are part of criminal organizations. So, if a person is seen speaking to a gang member, then the police can swoop 15 in and possibly arrest both people. Rather than having to follow normal Fourth Amendment 16 search and seizure 17 law, which requires that the police have a reasonable suspicion of some violation 18 of the law, the police can simply stop the conversations themselves. These injunctions are hotly contested because it is almost impossible to define who is in a gang, who is not, what activities are allowed, and what are not, and also because they are seen by critics as a violation of innocent bystanders’ Fourth Amendment rights. These injunctions are currently being tested around courts in the country, and time will tell if they stand.

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful 19 Life. You can send questions and comments to。。。。。。or call them in to the voice mail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.