Protective Orders & Protective Order Violations
A Protective Order Is Serious. You Need a Serious Lawyer.
One bad move can cost you your home, your job, your rights, and your freedom. Don’t trust this to a lawyer who treats it like paperwork.
Protect Your Job
Protect Your Rights
Protect Your Freedom
What's At stake
Don't Let a Protective Order Wreck Your Life
A protective order can change your life in an instant. You get served, and suddenly you can't go home, get your clothes, get your medication, get what you need for work, or maybe even talk to your kids. The order’s already in effect, and the hearing is usually only about 14 days away. You're left asking yourself, "What just happened?"
This is where people guess and make things worse. They guess what the order means. They listen to the person protected by the order. They go back to the house. They answer a text. They think “civil” means minor.
It doesn’t.
A protective order can affect your home, job, clearance, and firearm rights. A violation charge can bring at least one active day in jail, up to 12 months in jail, and an additional protective order for up to two years.
You need to know exactly what you’re dealing with before this gets worse.
You're locked out of your home before you've had a chance to fight back
Your job, your clearance, and your firearm rights are at risk immediately
One mistake turns a civil order into a criminal case
Why it matters
Protect Your Home, Job, Rights, and Freedom From a One-Sided Order
When a protective order is already in effect, every decision matters. Gardner & Burks helps you understand the order, avoid contact mistakes, prepare for the hearing, and fight to protect you.
Know The Rules
You’ll understand the order, so you know what contact really means, what changes now, and what could turn a civil order into a criminal charge.
Protect What's Yours
You’ll have a defense team that treats the risk to your job, your clearance, your rights, and your freedom.
Fast Trial Prep
The clock is ticking fast. You’ll have witnesses, subpoenas, and trial strategy on a timeline measured in days, not months.
Put The Right Defense Attorney In Place Today
What to Do in the First 48 Hours After a Criminal Charge
The first 48 hours after a criminal charge can shape what happens next. Download this free guide to learn what to avoid, what to document, and when to get an attorney involved.
Inside this guide:
- The one thing you must NOT say to police, even if you're innocent
- Why staying silent is your most powerful legal right
- The 3 calls to make in the first hour after a charge
- What to do if you or a loved one has been charged with a juvenile offense
- How to document everything before evidence disappears
- What to expect at your first court appearance
get started
Start Protecting Your Future Today
01
Call Us
Start with a simple phone call and tell us what's going on.
02
Meet Us
We'll talk through the situation, gather the facts, and explain what happens next.
03
Let's Fight
Once you decide to move forward, we begin working on the case right away.
Why People Trust Gardner & Burks for Criminal Defense
Even months after needing her services...
...she still checks in with me from time to time. By the grace of God and the representation by GSB, I feel like I am best set up to continue on with my life in an upward trajectory.
Justin Helman
Ms. Burks knowledge of Virginia law was evident...
...from our first meeting. She is extremely hardworking, responding to emails beyond traditional work hours.
Linda Gayle
Wow....just simply wow....
...From the introductory appointment to the day of court, Ghislaine and her staff were up front with the status of the case and what potential issues we could face.
Kevin Westburg
I cannot thank Ghislaine Storr Burks enough...
...She took the time to explain everything clearly, always kept me informed, and made sure I felt supported through the entire process.
Alexis Neumann
FREDERICKSBURG PROTECTIVE ORDER ATTORNEYS
Protective Orders Are Serious. You Need Fredericksburg's Trusted Defense Team.
Getting served with a protective order can turn your life upside down before you’ve had a chance to respond. You may be trying to figure out whether you can go home, get your clothes, get your medication, see your kids, keep your job, or carry a firearm for work.
Gardner & Burks understands how serious this gets. Protective orders may be civil, but the consequences can threaten your freedom. One misunderstanding, one text, or one trip back to the house can make a bad situation worse.
You need attorneys who know how protective orders work, how violations are charged, and how to prepare quickly when the hearing is only days away.
Gardner & Burks understands how serious this gets. Protective orders may be civil, but the consequences can threaten your freedom. One misunderstanding, one text, or one trip back to the house can make a bad situation worse.
You need attorneys who know how protective orders work, how violations are charged, and how to prepare quickly when the hearing is only days away.
- Protective order experience built through prior social services work
- Both civil protective orders and criminal charges for violating protective orders
- 45 years defending families in Fredericksburg
- Ghislaine brings 20+ years of violent crime defense experience
- Every case reviewed as a team, every time
- Responses within 24 hours, without exception
- Deep knowledge of local judges, prosecutors, and court process
- Former clients say they felt like family, not just a case
Take the first step
Get The Attorneys You Need Fighting In Your Corner
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions we hear most often from clients and families navigating the criminal justice system for the first time
Yes. A civil protective order is still serious and treating it like a minor issue is a mistake.
A protective order can affect your home, your job, your clearance, and your firearm rights. It can also create criminal exposure if you violate it. The firm handles both civil protective orders and criminal charges for violating protective orders, and the service materials make clear that these cases need to be taken seriously from the start.
A protective order can affect your home, your job, your clearance, and your firearm rights. It can also create criminal exposure if you violate it. The firm handles both civil protective orders and criminal charges for violating protective orders, and the service materials make clear that these cases need to be taken seriously from the start.
No. The other person cannot give you permission to violate a court order. The order comes from a judge, not from the protected person. Even if that person calls, texts, emails, or says it is fine to respond, answering can still be treated as a violation of the protective order. That is why you should not rely on the other person's permission or version of the rules.
No. Do not delete anything.
The firm's materials are clear on this point. Counsel needs the full record to prepare the case and avoid being surprised in court. Deleting messages can damage the defense and make the situation worse.
The firm's materials are clear on this point. Counsel needs the full record to prepare the case and avoid being surprised in court. Deleting messages can damage the defense and make the situation worse.
Read the protective order carefully and follow it exactly. Once you're served, the order is in effect, and the restrictions apply right away.
Do not contact the other person in any way. Do not go back home if the order keeps you out. Do not guess about what the order means. These cases move fast, and the hearing is typically within 14 days, so the first step is to get legal advice, understand the exact terms, and prepare before the hearing.
Do not contact the other person in any way. Do not go back home if the order keeps you out. Do not guess about what the order means. These cases move fast, and the hearing is typically within 14 days, so the first step is to get legal advice, understand the exact terms, and prepare before the hearing.
A protective order can affect where you live, who you can contact, whether you can have access to your home, and whether you can possess, purchase, or transport a firearm while the order is active.
It can also affect your job, your security clearance, and your day-to-day routine. Many people are trying to figure out whether they can get clothes, medication, work items or see their children. The answer depends on the exact wording of the order, not assumptions or what someone else tells you it means.
It can also affect your job, your security clearance, and your day-to-day routine. Many people are trying to figure out whether they can get clothes, medication, work items or see their children. The answer depends on the exact wording of the order, not assumptions or what someone else tells you it means.
A violation of a protective order is a criminal charge. The service materials describe it as a Class one misdemeanor that carries at least one active day in jail, up to 12 months in jail, and or a fine of up to $2,500.
A conviction can also lead to a new protective order for up to two years. These cases turn on the exact terms of the order, the alleged conduct, the dates involved, and whether the Commonwealth can prove what the order required and what happened.
A conviction can also lead to a new protective order for up to two years. These cases turn on the exact terms of the order, the alleged conduct, the dates involved, and whether the Commonwealth can prove what the order required and what happened.