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Miami-Dade
County has forged a cooperative effort between the court,
government agencies, and those in the community who
are committed to effectively addressing family violence
through the justice system. To that end, the Eleventh
Judicial Circuit of Florida created a specialized Domestic
Violence Division, comprised of seven judges and support
services to deal exclusively with this type of crime.
Domestic Violence-related misdemeanors, injunction violations,
and injunctions for protection (restraining orders)
are all heard within the Domestic Violence Division.
The
Division's support services include an Intake Unit and
a Case Management Unit. The Intake Unit serves as the
victim's first contact with the court, helping the victim
to obtain an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic
or Repeat Violence, connecting those in need of services
with community agencies and providing information and
referrals to Respondents (perpetrators) in need of assistance.
The Case Management Unit assists the Domestic Violence
judges in injunction cases regarding structured visitation
schedules, child support, specialized court orders,
treatment referrals, and case management. As the
"customer service" arm of the Division, this unit also
provides procedural information to parties in a case,
and assists with scheduling emergency hearings and requests
to change the conditions of an injunction.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
The Domestic
Violence Division
What
is domestic violence?
1)
Legal Definition: Florida Statute §741.30 - Domestic
Violence: Domestic Violence means any assault, aggravated
assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault,
sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping,
false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting
in physical injury or death of one family or household
member by another who is or was residing in the same
single dwelling unit.
- Your
relationship with the person whom the injunction
is being filed against must be that of:
(a) a spouse
(b) an
ex-spouse,
(c) a relative by blood or marriage who currently
lives with you or who lived with you in the past,
(d) anyone who lives or has lived with you
in the same dwelling as a family unit, or
(e) anyone with whom you have had a child,
with or without having lived together.
2)
Social Definition: Domestic violence occurs when one
intimate partner uses physical violence, coercion, threats,
intimidation, isolation, and/or emotional, sexual, and
economic abuse to maintain power and control over the
other intimate partner. It is both a crime and a serious
family matter.
Where
do I go for help with filing an injunction (restraining
order)?
There
are several court intake locations in the community
(listed below) where Intake Unit staff are available
to assist persons with filing for an injunction. They
will also help with referrals to social service agencies
in the community, safety planning, and procedural information
about the court process. There are procedures in place
which make it possible to obtain an injunction in Miami-Dade
County 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For any questions,
call the 24-Hour MIAMI-DADE COUNTY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
HOTLINE at (305) 349-5888.
The
following are the INTAKE LOCATIONS and their
hours of operation:
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REGULAR
WORKING HOURS: 8:00
a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
For maps, directions, and parking information,
click on the underlined court location.)
Lawson
E. Thomas Courthouse Center
175 N.W. 1st Avenue
Mezzanine Floor
Miami, FL 33128
(305) 349-5888
Hialeah
Courthouse
11 East 6th Street
Hialeah, FL 33010
(305) 520-4002
North
Dade Justice Center
15555 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33160
(305) 354-8736
South
Dade Government Center
10710 S.W. 211 Street
Miami, FL 33189
(305) 252-5807
Extended Emergency Hours for Obtaining an Injunction
:
Lawson
E. Thomas Courthouse Center:
(305) 349-5888
5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., Monday and Wednesday
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Saturday
Safespace North/South: (305) 349-5888
10:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m., Monday and Wednesday
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m., Tuesday, Thursday, and
Friday
6:00 p.m. - 12:00 midnight, Saturday
All day Sundays and Holidays
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How
does the injunction process work?
The
injunction process begins when you file for an injunction
at one of the INTAKE
LOCATIONS listed above. The
Intake Unit staff will help you complete all the necessary
paperwork, which is taken to a judge to review. If the
judge decides the sworn allegations contained in the
paperwork meet the requirements of Florida law for the
issuance of an injunction, the judge will enter a Temporary
Injunction, which will be valid for 15 days
. A hearing will be set within 15 days, and the Sheriff's
Office will attempt to personally serve the person who
the injunction is filed against (the respondent) with
the injunction paperwork. The Temporary Injunction can
require the respondent to have no contact with the person
filing the injunction (the petitioner), stay away from
the petitioner's home and workplace, vacate a shared
residence, award temporary custody of minor children
and require the surrender of firearms.
At
the court hearing, the judge will decide whether to
grant a Permanent Injunction after taking testimony
from the parties and witnesses, and considering any
evidence which is presented. If a Permanent Injunction
is granted, it will be effective until it is changed
or ended by the judge at either party's request, after
notice and hearing, or until a specific date set by
the judge (i.e., 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, etc.).
The Permanent Injunction can require the respondent
to have no contact with the petitioner, stay away from
the petitioner's home and workplace, award custody,
visitation, child and spousal support, and require the
surrender of firearms. The Permanent Injunction can
also order the respondent to attend a batterers' intervention
program and victims and children can be referred to
support groups and counseling programs, free of charge.
How
much does it cost to file for an injunction?
The
filing fee of $50 for Domestic Violence Injunction
cases was eliminated as of October 1, 2002.
How
can I get an injunction dismissed or dropped?
If
you would like to get your Temporary Injunction dismissed,
you must tell the judge at the time of your hearing.
The judge will not consider dismissing the injunction
before the hearing date. You should appear in court
on your hearing date and explain why you no longer need
this protection from the court. If you have a Permanent
Injunction and you would like to request that it be
dismissed, you need to file a motion or write a letter
to the judge and mail it or bring it in person to the
INTAKE
LOCATION where you filed for
the injunction, or fax it to (305) 349-5559. Include
your case number, judge's name, and phone number where
you can be contacted (unless it is confidential) on
your motion or letter.
What
if I have a problem with my hearing date?
If
you know you have a scheduling conflict and will
not
be able to attend your court hearing on the date it
is set for, file a motion or write a letter to
the judge asking for a new hearing date and
mail it (if it will get there before the hearing
date) or bring
it in person to the INTAKE
LOCATION where you filed
for the injunction, or fax it to (305) 349-5559.
If you
realize that you have missed your court date, immediately
write a letter to the judge asking for a new hearing
date and fax it to (305) 349-5559, or bring it in person
to the INTAKE LOCATION
where you filed for the injunction.
Include your case number, judge's name, and phone
number
where you can be contacted (unless it is confidential)
on your motion or letter. If you have any questions,
call the Domestic Violence Court Unit to speak to the
judge's Case Manager at (305) 349-5556.
How
can I get the custody, visitation, and/or child support
provisions of the injunctionchanged?
If
circumstances have changed since you got your injunction
and you would like the judge to consider changing any
of the conditions of the injunction, such as custody,
visitation, and/or child support, you need to file
a motion or write a letter to the judge requesting that
a hearing be scheduled for this purpose. You should
mail it or bring it in person to the
INTAKE
LOCATION where you filed for
the injunction, or fax it to (305) 349-5559. Include
your case number, judge's name, and phone number where
you can be contacted (unless it is confidential) on
your motion or letter. For more information on changing
the terms of your injunction, call the Domestic Violence
Case Management Unit to speak to the judge's Case Manager
at (305) 349-5556.
What
do I do if the person I filed the injunction against
(the respondent) violates the injunction?
If
the respondent violates the injunction by coming into
personal contact with you, call 911 (the police) to
report the violation and ask for their immediate assistance.
If the respondent leaves or commits some other type
of violation, such as telephone or mail contact, go
to the INTAKE
LOCATION where you
filed for the injunction, prior to 4:00 p.m. Monday
through Friday, to start the process to file for an
injunction violation.
Where
can I get information about my domestic violence-related
criminal case?
You
can get information about your domestic violence-related
criminal case 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling
a specialized multilingual computerized information
service of the State Attorney's Office called VAN
(Victim Access Network) at (305) 273-HELP or toll free
at 1-800-398-2808,or you can call their main number
at (305) 547-0100.
Where
can I get information about my divorce case?
You
can get information about your divorce case by calling
the Family Division Case Management Unit at (305)
349-5561, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00
p.m., Monday through Friday.
Who
do I call if I am a person with a disability who needs
assistance?
Please
contact ADA
Coordinator, at:
| Voice
Mail: |
(305)
349-7175 |
| TDD: |
(305)
349-7174 |
| Fax
No:. |
(305)
349-7355 |
| Email:. |
ADA_Mail@jud11.flcourts.org |
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