Most of the time, with protective orders, the judge will give you a pass the first time out if you’re on defense to get counsel. They are required to have a full hearing but not a final hearing in protective order court if you are at the first set within so many days. So what that means is the hearing can consist of, “I need time to get counsel.” “All right, Mr. So and So. Great, we’ll set it out to this date.”

Again, as I’ve advised in my prior video from family court, make sure you get a date that’s far enough out to allow you to pay for an attorney and allow them to get up to speed and take care of whatever business they need to take care of before you have to be back in court.

This is not a time just because you have 30 days or 60 days to get counsel, it doesn’t mean you wait till the 29th day or the 59th day to get your attorney hired, or they’re not going to be as effective, and they’re not going to be very happy with you either. And also, in that situation, they may just flat-out tell you, “I can’t help you.” So it’s important if you get that continuance, get counsel fast. Don’t screw around. But again, the way you’re going to ask for the continuance in that situation is, “Your Honor, I’m here by myself. I would like time to retain counsel as I am not familiar with the legal system, and I need help.”

And because of the consequences a protective order carries, if you’re on the defense, most likely, the court will give you the pass, provided you don’t object to continuing the emergency. And you shouldn’t. I appreciate it if you really think it’s nonsense, or if your kid’s on it, but just be aware. If you don’t agree to that, there’s going to be a hearing that day. So if you need the pass, that’s the price of admission. If you do need a family court attorney in Tulsa to deal with a protective order, one place can get good counsel is at Dads.Law, where fathers are not disposable.