Most of my experience handling New Jersey restraining-order cases has been in the Monmouth County Courthouse.
Courthouses commonly have security cameras in hallways, entrances, parking areas, and other public spaces. If someone violates a restraining order while at the courthouse, footage from those cameras may provide important evidence of what happened.
I have handled domestic-violence cases in which a person who insisted, “I haven’t done anything wrong,” was accused of harassing, threatening or even physically confronting the protected party at the courthouse. And sometimes, the incident was captured on video.
If you are protected by a temporary or final restraining order and the other person approaches, harasses, threatens or touches you at the courthouse, there may be video evidence of what happened. That footage could help show a judge that your account of the incident is true.
However, do not assume that every area is recorded or that footage will be preserved forever. If an incident occurs, write down the exact time and location, notify courthouse security and contact your attorney promptly. Your lawyer may be able to request that the footage be preserved and use the appropriate legal process to obtain it.
Courthouse video can be useful evidence when harassment, threats, unwanted contact or assault becomes part of a restraining-order or family-law case. The important thing is to act quickly.
A restraining order still applies at the courthouse.
If someone violates it there, do not confront them. Find a sheriff’s officer or courthouse security, explain what happened and document every detail you can remember. The incident may have been caught on camera.
And that video may help prove what really happened.
Steve