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The Injustice of Unremovable Protective Orders: A Stigma That Lasts a Lifetime
It’s been five years today since my then-wife filed a false protective order against me. Of all things, using my ADHD diagnosis as a basis to claim I am angry and abusive. Five years later, I still can’t remove this albatross from my record.
Protective orders are an essential tool to protect individuals in dangerous situations, but their misuse and the inability to fully expunge them from public and private records when they are obtained under false or fraudulent circumstances expose a glaring flaw in the system. Even when a protective order is dismissed or shielded, the respondent often remains on the domestic violence registry, which police, judges, and other officials can access. This unjust permanence can ruin lives and careers, even when the accusations were demonstrably false.
This has been my personal experience. Despite providing clear evidence and proof that a protective order against me was obtained in bad faith and through deceit, my attempts to clear my record have repeatedly been denied. This article seeks to shed light on why the current system is flawed, the long-term damage it causes, and why reform is urgently needed.
