Overview
Tom: your intro.
Draft for you to change or replace: A family offense petition is a case in Family Court, not criminal court, but it is built on the same allegations: harassment, menacing, assault and the like, between family members or people in an intimate relationship. The court can issue a temporary order of protection at the first appearance, often before the other side has been heard, and a final order can last for years. The same events can also be prosecuted in criminal court at the same time, so what is said in one courtroom can matter in the other. We take these cases to a hearing when that is the right call.
The law
Family Court hears family offense petitions under Article 8 of the Family Court Act. Section 812 gives Family Court and the criminal courts concurrent jurisdiction: choosing Family Court does not take the case away from the criminal court.
Who can file. "Members of the same family or household" (FCA 812(1)): people related by blood or marriage, spouses and former spouses, people who have a child in common, and people who are or were in an intimate relationship, whether or not they lived together.
Which acts. The family offenses listed in FCA 812(1) include disorderly conduct, harassment, aggravated harassment in the second degree, stalking, menacing, reckless endangerment, criminal obstruction of breathing, strangulation, assault in the second and third degree, attempted assault, criminal mischief, sexual misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse, identity theft, grand larceny in the third and fourth degree, coercion, and unlawful dissemination of intimate images.
Orders of protection. A final order of protection may last up to two years, or up to five years where the court finds aggravating circumstances on the record (FCA 842). The court may extend an order for good cause.
Tom: verify the standard of proof line before it goes live — FCA 832, "a fair preponderance of the evidence".
FAQ
Is a family offense case a criminal case?
No. It is a civil proceeding in Family Court. But the same events can be charged in a criminal court at the same time, and statements made in one case can be used in the other.
What happens at the first appearance?
The court can issue a temporary order of protection on the petitioner's word alone, before you have been heard. It can order you out of your home and away from your children until the next date. Get a lawyer before that date if you can: the temporary order often sets the terms for months.
Can I respond to a petition filed against me?
Yes. You may deny the allegations and have a fact-finding hearing, at which the petitioner must prove a family offense and you may testify, call witnesses and cross-examine. Many cases are also resolved by agreement without a finding against you.
What if I violate a temporary order?
Violating an order of protection can be charged as criminal contempt in criminal court, and can lead to an arrest on the spot, even if the protected person invited the contact. Until the order is changed, follow it exactly.
Articles
Results
- A. v. A. · Yates County Family Court, 2025Family offense petition — dismissed after trial.
- S. v. P. · Steuben County Family Court, 2025Family offense petition — withdrawn before trial.