A person is able to get a restraining order fairly easily in Montana. Many times, the Courts order ROs with little evidence from the alleged victim. This, of course, puts the person against whom the RO was entered in a position of being charged with the crime of violating the RO.
The alleged victim, at times, uses the RO as leverage against the restrained person, whether it relates to child support, visitation rights, or the like. What happens a lot in these cases is the alleged victim asserts facts that are unfounded, manipulated or fabricated so he or she can get his or her way against the restrained person.
If the State or City prosecutes the restrained person based on these assertions, this puts the defendant in a position of having to, sort of, “prove his or her innocence.” Thus, the defendant’s attorney will have to test the alleged victim’s assertions for their truth and veracity. This is not easy many times. If the assertions prove to be unfounded, the attorney may be able to file defense motions to get the case dismissed or mitigate the sentence. It is very important to have an attorney with experience in defending violation of RO charges.