Greene County Courtroom Notes -- Tuesday, August 26 2025

 Family/Protection Docket -- What I Saw & What It Means

Case 1 -- "I think I applied for an ex parte" 

After this was said by one of the parties, the judge said, "Under the definition of harassment, she meets that test. I am going to grant the order."

I observed many things during this hearing:

    1-- Two former partners (man and woman) going against each other

    2-- The main, I think, said he uses drugs and admitted to sending abusive emails

    3-- I believe the judge sided with the woman, hence the granting of the order

While I wasn't able to hear most of it, I think this hearing had to due with an Order of Protection. More specifically, the judge probably issued an ex parte order, which led to then the full hearing. 

"Meets the test"?? This is actually an interesting question. In Missouri, harassment is defined as a purposeful course of conduct that causes distress. The judge most likely listened to the parties and determined that the emails were an abusive form of communication and that led to harm. Another thing that most be noticed in harassment cases is if the communication served a purpose. In this case, it probably did not.

The order granted probably just stops forms of contact. The man now probably has to stay away from certain locations and stop his emails. 


Case 2 -- "Motion to extend the order of protection... do you object?" 

In this case, two families were involved. A man and woman on one side, and there was just a woman on the other side. Everyone was sworn in before the talking happened. I heard the judge ask if there were any additional witnesses besides the parties, and I think the answer was no from both. After this, the judge explained a rule about timing and certain orders. What is interesting is one of the parties started getting disrespectful, but I could not see why exactly.

Again, I do not have the full context of this; however, it was probably a renewal of an order of protection. In Missouri, judges can set an order with a given timeline and then renew it on a motion. The judge explained the timing rule by telling one of the parties that this order auto renews if that respective party does not request a hearing 30 days prior to the order's original expiration. 

The disrespect from one of the parties continued and even led to the judge yelling at her. It was very surprising as I have never experienced this before. 


Quick Info

What is an ex parte vs. full order? An ex parte is immediate. This order is short term protection that is initiated by one party. A full order comes after an ex parter, and it is a full hearing with both sides speaking. 

Harassment. Again, this is defined as a course of conduct that is not required and inflicts harm. Emotional distress is a very common harm that is argued in hearings like these.

How long, usually, does a full order last? These order often last either 180 days or 1 year. Again, the court is able to renew it. An automatic renewal is also possible if the respondent fails to request a hearing 30 days prior to expiration. 

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