New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
Irrespective of whether you live in Yonkers, White Plains, Bedford, Mt. Kisco, Irvington, Somers, Scarsdale, Harrison or any other city, town, village or hamlet in the County of Westchester, if you desire an order of protection and you do not wish to pursue that restraining order through an arrest and prosecution by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, then depending on the nature of the relationship between you and the person you seek protection from, Westchester County Family Court is the answer. Westchester County orders of protection and restraining orders are available in Family Court under limited circumstances, but if you and the other party are family members or have an intimate relationship and the acts committed by that person violate the Family Court Act, a Family Court lawyer or Order of Protection attorney can potentially secure a restraining order for you with a duration as long as two and even five years. It is critically important to recognize, and something you should discuss with your Westchester County Restraining Order lawyer, that obtaining an order of protection in Family Court does not prevent you from pursuing criminal charges with your local police or the Westchester County Police.