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Legal Information: New York

Restraining Orders

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Laws current as of September 18, 2024

Can I bring a friend or other person with me for support?

The law says that if you are the petitioner in an order of protection case, you are allowed to have a friend, relative, counselor or social worker present in the court room with you for support - even if you are represented by a lawyer. That person cannot participate in the court case as a lawyer could unless the judge decides on his/her own to question that person.1

If you are the respondent in an order of protection case, you also have the same right to bring someone with you for support but only if you do not have a lawyer representing you. The judge does have the right to exclude this person from the courtroom however if the judge finds it “undesirable” to have the person there.1

1 NY Fam Ct Act § 838

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