Virginia Protective Orders Expanded

Created: June 15, 2011

Availability of protective orders expanded by new changes in Virginia law.  Under prior Virginia law, protective orders were only available to cases involving “family abuse”, stalking, sexual battery, or criminal offenses involving serious bodily injury.  Effective July 1, 2011, protective orders will now be available to persons in any case involving an “act of violence force, or threat that results in bodily injury or places one in reasonable apprehension of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury”.  This increase in the scope of availability of protective orders occurs primarily via amendments to Virginia Code Chapter 9.1 of Title 19.2.  The most obvious change occurring in the title of Chapter 9.1, which was amended from “Protective Orders for Stalking” to simply  “Protective Orders”.  Of course, there are also modifications to the language therein.  Important definitions under the new statute may be found in Virginia Code § 19.2-152.7:1.   It will be interesting to see how courts interpret and apply this new statutory language.   Brian Moore

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