For the purposes of getting an order of protection, “domestic or family violence” is when a family or household member does any of the following things to you:

• recklessly or intentionally injures you physically;
• tries to injure you physically;
• places you in fear of injury;
• forces, threatens, or intimidates you into sexual activity against your will;
• tries to force, threaten, or intimidate you into sexual activity against your will; or
• harasses you.¹

Domestic or family violence does not include acts of self-defense.¹

“Harassment” is when someone repeatedly says or does things that seriously upset or annoy you. The person must be doing these things specifically to you, on purpose, and there must not be any good (“legitimate”) reason for doing these things.²

Note: A petition for an order of protection cannot be dismissed or denied based only on the fact that the incident(s) you wrote about in your petition happened a while before you applied for the order.³ 

¹ 8 CMC § 1902(a)
² 8 CMC § 1902(c)
³ 8 CMC § 1919

In the CNMI, there are two types of orders of protection that you can file for in civil court.

You can get a temporary ex parte order (“TRO”) if the judge believes you are the victim of domestic or family violence. “Ex parte” means the abuser is not there and does not know about the order in advance. The abuser will be notified after the TRO is entered, and a hearing will be held within ten days.¹This hearing is called an “order to show cause” (“OSC”) hearing. The judge will choose the date the order expires.²

At the OSC hearing, you and the abuser can each present evidence and witnesses. If the judge believes the abuser committed domestic or family violence against you, you can get a final order of protection (“OOP”). The judge will choose the date the order expires.³ Typically, an order of protection will be in effect for up to one year. As long as the abuser has been served, a judge can issue a final order of protection whether or not the abuser comes to court.⁴

Note: A police officer can request an emergency order on your behalf when s/he believes that there has been an incident of domestic or family violence. The officer can call the judge and tell him/her what has happened. If the judge believes that you are in immediate danger, s/he can issue an order either over the phone (oral) or in writing. If it’s an oral order, the officer will write the judge’s order on a form and give a copy to both you and the abuser.⁵ The law doesn’t specify how long this order will last.

¹ 8 CMC §§ 1916(a)(1), (d)(1), (e); 1917(a)
² 8 CMC § 1916(e)
³ 8 CMC § 1916(a)(2)
⁴ 8 CMC § 1916(c)
⁵ 8 CMC §§ 1915(a), (b)

When you and the abuser live in different places, a judge in the CNMI may not have legal power (personal jurisdiction) over an abuser who lives somewhere else. This means that the judge may not be able to grant an order against him/her.

However, there are a few ways that a judge can get personal jurisdiction over an abuser who lives outside of the CNMI:

1. The abuser has a substantial connection to the CNMI. Perhaps the abuser regularly travels to the CNMI to visit you, to see extended family, or for business, or the abuser lived in the CNMI and recently fled.
2. One of the acts of abuse “happened” in the CNMI. For example, perhaps the abuser sends you threatening texts or harassing phone calls from another state or territory, but you read the messages or answer the calls while you are in the CNMI. The judge could decide that the abuse “happened” to you while you were in the CNMI. It may also be possible that the abuser was in the CNMI when s/he abused you but s/he has since left.
3. If you file your petition and the abuser gets served with the court petition while s/he is in the CNMI, this is another way for the court to get personal jurisdiction.

Even if none of the above apply to your situation, you may still be able to get an order. If you file, the abuser may agree to an order “on consent” or the judge may decide there are other reasons to grant the order.

You can read more about personal jurisdiction in our Court System Basics - Personal Jurisdiction section.

Note: If the judge in the CNMI refuses to give you an order, you can file in the courthouse in the abuser’s state or territory. However, you might need to file the petition in person and attend various court dates. This could be difficult when the abuser’s state or territory is far away.

Any adult who has been a victim of domestic or family violence committed by a family or household member may file a petition asking the Superior Court for protection.¹

If you are a minor, you may need a parent, guardian or other representative to file for an order of protection on your behalf. ² You may want to contact a domestic violence program for more information about how to get an order if you are a minor. Go to our CNMI Advocates and Shelters page to find a program.

Note: A judge can issue mutual orders of protection to opposing parties if s/he thinks that it is in the best interest of the parties to do so.³

¹ 8 CMC § 1911(a)
² 8 CMC § 1911(b)
³ 8 CMC § 1920

There is no fee to file for an order of protection and you do not need an attorney.¹ However, you may want to hire an attorney, especially if the abuser has one. Go to our CNMI Finding a Lawyer page for legal referrals.

If you do hire an attorney, the judge may order the abuser to pay your reasonable attorney’s fees.²

¹ See the list of filing fees on the NMI Judiciary website, page 17, “Violence Against Women Act of 1998 (VAWA) cases”
² 8 CMC § 1916(c)(5)

There are several different agencies in the CNMI that may be able to assist with the order of protection process.

The Office of the Attorney General has a Victim Witness Advocacy Unit (VWAU) which may be able to do some or all of the following:

1. assign you an advocate;
2. help you figure out whether or not you are eligible for a temporary restraining order (TRO);
3. talk to you about your options;
4. help you complete all required documents;
5. send your completed documents to the Family Court for processing;
6. help you with safety planning and refer you to other agencies if necessary;
7. inform you when the judge decides whether or not to grant your TRO;
8. provide you with a copy of your order if one is issued, and inform you of upcoming court dates;
9. come with you to court when it’s time for your hearing; and
10. continue to provide advocacy services after the court hearing is over.

An advocate with Karidat Social Services can also provide many of the services listed in numbers 2 – 9 above.

The Pro Se Center of the Family Court Division may be able to:

• offer legal information, but not legal advice; and
• provide the necessary forms to file for an order of protection.

The abuser will have to be served with the summons, complaint, notice of hearing, and the TRO. When you fill out your petition, you can check the box that asks the police to serve your order if this is what you prefer. If you don’t check it, you can hire a process server to serve the papers.

You may want to give the police or process server a picture of the abuser as well as any information you have that will help them locate him/her. The abuser must receive notice of the hearing. If the abuser does not receive notice, the hearing will be rescheduled. In addition, if a TRO was granted, the abuser must be served with the order for it to be in effect and be enforced.

If you are granted an order of protection, you will receive information about your next court date. Judges in the CNMI often schedule periodic review hearings after an order is entered. This allows the judge to check in with the parties and see how things are going. Both parties must attend all scheduled hearings.

Once you get an order of protection, there may be laws that prohibit the respondent from having a gun in his/her possession.  There are a few places where you can find this information:

• First, read the questions on this page to see if judges in the CNMI have to power to remove guns as part of a temporary or final order;
• Second, you can read our Federal Gun Laws section to understand the federal laws that apply to all states and territories.
• Third, you can read more about keeping an abuser from accessing guns from the National Resource Center for Domestic Violence and Firearms.

If you did not get an order of protection, there are other ways that you can stay safe. It may be a good idea to contact a domestic violence organization to get help. They can help you to develop a safety plan and provide other free services. You can find contact information for domestic violence organizations on our CNMI Advocates and Shelters page.

You may be able to apply for a new order of protection if new acts of violence occur after you were denied the order.

If you think that the judge made an error, you can talk to a lawyer about the possibility of filing an appeal. Generally, appeals are complicated and it is very likely that you will need the help of a lawyer. For more information about appeals, go to our Filing Appeals page.

CNMI law does not specifically state whether or not a person can extend his/her order. If your order is about to expire but you are still afraid of the respondent, you may want to ask the judge during a review hearing whether or not your order can be extended. You can also speak to a lawyer to ask if it’s possible to apply for a new order before your current order expires.