[giantg2]

"A civil court can render a ruling against a party if the party is not present, but it will typically go to great lengths to ensure that notice is given to parties before doing so"

In many types of cases, but not all. Protection from abuse order hearings generally happen without the knowledge of the target of the order.

[nieve]

For good reason, even starting the process can set off violence and it's not instant to complete.

[giantg2]

I honestly don't see a good reason.

The process is commonly abused by divorce lawyers to gain control of the house for their client, and the bar for evidence is extremely low. The way our adversarial justice system is supposed to work is that the truth comes out in a fair fight. This process obviously ignores this foundation.

If there's really enough evidence to suggest immediate violence, then they should be arrested for terroristic threats and other stuff. And let's not forget that the protective order is just a piece of paper and won't stop any violence if the person is truly motivated.

Frankly, I think a lot of civil court actions have been created just to avoid the protections guaranteed in the criminal system.

[WCityMike]

> I honestly don't see a good reason.

I presume you're one of the fortunate majority who've never had domestic abusers injure (temporarily or permanently) or kill someone loved.