Civil injunctions are court orders that prohibit or mandate actions to protect the community. They can target individuals or groups and vary by location. They can prevent domestic or sexual violence, curb gang-related crimes, and prevent non-criminal groups from breaking the law. Penalties for violating an order vary by jurisdiction.
Civil injunctions are court orders that prohibit someone from committing a certain act or mandate an action to safeguard the community. They are similar to protective or restraining orders and target individuals or groups, although the specific types available vary by location. Some types of civil injunctions address domestic or sexual violence by preventing one person from contacting another or by barring an alleged abuser from returning home. Other injunctions seek to prevent groups from breaking the law based on past behavior.
Some civil injunctions seek to prevent domestic violence and protect victims from their abusers. The UK, for example, has non-molestation orders which prohibit one partner from harassing or threatening another partner or any child involved in the relationship. Related UK injunctions – employment orders – specify who can and cannot live in a household following allegations of abuse in a bid to curb domestic violence. US law also has domestic violence civil injunctions that prevent contact or cohabitation after an abuse has occurred.
US law also allows for a civil injunction to prevent sexual assault. Such an order is issued when situations do not meet the parameters of domestic violence, but threats to personal and public safety still exist. An injunction can be issued in cases of sexual beating or sexual abuse involving a minor. An injunction may also be ordered if a person is stalking another in a previous dating relationship or even a non-relationship that may not reach the level of domestic abuse.
Other types of civil injunctions control the actions of groups. In California, for example, prosecutors have used civil injunctions to curb gang-related crimes. The orders can prohibit known gang members from associating with each other in public or from committing even a minor offense, such as littering, under threat of arrest. Such injunction orders may specify that otherwise legal behavior, such as gathering in a park, is not permitted because the ban helps counter turf wars that fuel gang violence.
Civil injunctions have also been used when non-criminal groups threaten to break the law based on past behavior. For example, the US government has obtained injunctions against the activist organization Greenpeace. The orders, which affect all US members of the organization, sought to prevent Greenpeace from breaking the law during protests at military bases, which it regularly did before injunctions.
Penalties for violating a civil injunction vary by jurisdiction. Violators can face arrest or automatic jail time for violating an order. Other penalties may include fines or warnings against future infractions.
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