The Basics of Protective Orders | Texas Legal Attorney Jessica Houghtby

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Leaving an abusive relationship can be difficult for many reasons. On average it takes a victim 7 attempts to leave their domestic violence situation. There are many tools and resources in Texas to help victims leave, one significant tool is filing a Protective Order. Understanding who can get a protective order, what it does, and how to proceed afterward is very important.

Join us on Tuesday, October 18th at 1:00 p.m. for a live webinar featuring Texas Legal Attorney Jessica Houghtby as she discusses Protective Orders in Texas. She will be answering questions submitted by the viewers during the live webinar.

Attorney Jessica Houghtby has been practicing law for 10 years. She is a criminal defense and family law attorney for Pennington Law PLLC, located in Round Rock, Texas.

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As a member of Texas Legal, your benefits may include representation* for protective orders. This is in addition to many other benefits including Family Law, Estate Planning, and General Legal Services. For more details regarding your benefits, please contact Texas Legal at 1-800-252-9346 or [email protected].

*The Protective Order benefit under the Secure and Preferred Plans covers participating attorneys’ billable time for representation in proceeding for a protective order where the insured member is either the applicant or the respondent in the proceedings. The Select Plan does not cover protective orders. Please reference plan documents for more details and other benefit limits. FAMILY LAW NOTE: all divorce, custody, and modification benefits are subject to a six (6) month waiting period and cover the primary policyholder only. For more details regarding your specific plan and available benefits, please contact Texas Legal at 1-800-252-9346 or [email protected].

If you or somebody you know is experiencing domestic violence, please visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline website ( https://www.thehotline.org/ ), call 800-799-7233, or text “START” to 88788 for resources.

Disclaimer: Watching or engaging in this video does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Jessica Houghtby of Pennington Law PLLC. Nothing in this video should be taken or relied upon as legal advice. The topics discussed herein are for general informational purposes only. You are encouraged to seek independent legal advice regarding your specific facts and circumstances. This video is not a solicitation or offer of representation. Please do not send any confidential information during this video as such communications are not protected under any privilege.

00:00 Intro/Disclaimer
01:36 About Jessica Houghtby
02:07 Presentation preview
4:12 What is a Protective Order
4:57 Stalking Protective Order
10:17 Magistrate’s Emergency Protective Order
12:14 Civil Protective Orders - Initiation
13:10 Who can file
13:51 How to file
14:46 Ex Parte Protective Orders
15:59 Burden and Evidence
19:55 Evidence of future violence
22:03 Defensive Strategies
23:42 Protective Orders v. Temp Restraining Orders
27:34 Domestic Violence Finding
29:30 Outro