Órdenes de Restricción

Si usted vive en Washington pero el/la agresor/a does not, el/la juez/a podría no tener “jurisdicción personal” (poder) sobre ese/a agresor/a. Esto significa que es posible que el tribunal no pueda otorgar una orden en contra de él/ella. However, under Washington law, there are a few ways that a court can have personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state abuser and grant you a protection order:

Hay algunas formas en las que una corte puede tener jurisdicción personal sobre un/a agresor/a que es de otro estado:

1. After you file su petición, el/la agresor/a recibe notificación personal de la petición de la corte mientras él/ella está en Washington;
2. The abuser gives in (“submits”) to the jurisdiction of the Washington state court by: 
   • agreement (“consent”);
   • “entering a general appearance,” which often means s/he show up in court at the return court date; or
   • filing a responsive document in court without objecting to personal jurisdiction, which has the effect of waiving any objection to personal jurisdiction;
3. The actions of the abuser, or someone acting as an “agent” of the abuser, that you listed in your petition as your reason for needing the protection order took place:
   • in Washington; or
   • outside of Washington but the actions are part of an ongoing pattern that has a negative effect on you or a member of your family or household; or
4. As a result of the actions that are listed in your petition as your reason for needing the protection order, you or a member of your family or household has sought safety or protection in Washington and currently live(s) in Washington; or
5. Due to any other reason listed in section 4.28.185 of the law or in the Constitutions of Washington or the United States.¹

Note: For the court to have jurisdiction due to the reasons listed in #3 or #4, above, the abuser must have communicated with you or a member of the your family, directly or indirectly, or made known a threat to the safety of you or a member your family, while the victim lived in Washington.² A threat can be “communicated” or “made known” in any of the following ways: in person, through publication, by mail, telephone, through an electronic communication site or medium, by text, or through other social media.³

Sin embargo, aunque nada de esto aplique a su situación, eso no necesariamente significa que usted no pueda conseguir una orden. A usted le pueden dar una orden por consentimiento o el/la juez/a puede encontrar otras circunstancias que permitan que la orden sea dada. Puede leer más sobre jurisdicción personal en nuestra sección de Asuntos Básicos del Sistema Judicial - Jurisdicción Personal.

Si el/la juez/a de su estado se niega a dar una orden, usted puede pedir una orden en la corte del estado donde vive el/la agresor/a. Sin embargo, recuerde que es probable que usted necesite presentar la petición en persona y asistir a varias citas en la corte, lo cual podría ser difícil si el estado de el/la agresor/a es lejos.

¹ R.C.W. § 7.105.080(1)
² R.C.W. § 7.105.080(2)
³ R.C.W. § 7.105.080(3)(a)