A criminal protective order is justified only if there is good cause to believe there is an attempt to intimate a witness or victim – Penal Code section 136.2
It was recently reported that the California Court of Appeal held that the issuance of a criminal protective order must be based on good cause to believe that the defendant may attempt to intimidate or dissuade a witness or victim. Michael Babalola confronted two individuals who he thought was robbing his business. They got into an altercation in which Mr. Babalola pulled out his handgun and struck one of the victims in the face. During pretrial proceedings, the prosecutor submitted a proposed protective order. The prosecutor argued that he was seeking a protective order to prevent any contact between Mr. Babalola and the victims given how close they lived to each other. The trial court granted the prosecution’s protective order.
Penal Code section 136.2 authorizes the trial court in a criminal case to issue a protective order where “upon a good cause belief that harm to, or intimidation or dissuasion of, a victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur.” In 1988, the state legislature amended section 136.2 to reflect their concern to protect victims of domestic violence. In 2008, it was further amended to reflect that in domestic violence cases past harm, as evidence by the pending charges or other information, or threat of future harm to the victim may provide good cause for issuance of a criminal protective order. However, in all other non-domestic violence cases, a criminal protective order must be based on a finding of good cause to believe an attempt to intimidate or dissuade a victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur.
In this case, the Court of Appeal held that good cause did not exist to issue the protective order. The Court specifically highlighted the fact that the instant crime was not a crime involving domestic violence, but rather aggravated assault. Most importantly, there was no evidence that Mr. Babalola had attempted either during or after the commission of the assaults to intimidate or dissuade his victims.
If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime, it is imperative that you contact our criminal defense attorneys at Wallin and Klarich. Wallin & Klarich will help protect your rights and find the best defense strategy for your case. For over 40 years, our attorneys have handled many types of these cases with exceptional results. Please call us at (877) 466-5245. We will be there when you call.
