Written court orders can take many forms and have various titles depending on their application, issuance, and law from which it extends (criminal or civil). Court orders are often used to respond to instances of trespassing.

Examples of criminal written court orders are:

• a “Stay Away Order” (SAO),
• a “Civil Harassment Restraining Order” (RO),
• a “No HAM” order (No Harass, Annoy, Molest),
•  and an Emergency Protective Order (EPO), to name a few. 

Examples of civil court orders are:

• a child custody order,
• a civil harassment restraining order (You read that correctly! A restraining order could be both civil or criminal when issued.),
• an eviction order, 
• and a move out order, to name a few.

The types of court orders maintained in the Fremont Police Records Unit for entry into law enforcement databases are:

1. Emergency Protective Order (EPO)
2. Order to Show Cause and temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
3. Restraining Order After Hearing (OAH)
4. Restraining Order- Juvenile
5. Order to Show Cause (Harassment of Employee) and Temporary Restraining Order
6. Protective Order in Criminal Proceeding- Criminal Protective Order
7. Out of State Domestic Violence Protective Orders registered in California with the court clerk.   

The most common orders officers are called to assist with are civil harassment restraining orders, No HAM orders, emergency protective orders (EPO, criminal in nature), family custody orders (civil in nature) and eviction orders (civil in nature). 

It depends on the nature of the order and the desired outcome of the party involved in the order.

Generally, orders may be entered into one or multiple computer databases accessible by officers.  These databases may be on a County, State or Federal level.  Sometimes, an order may not be entered into these databases.  If the order is not in the database, officers have a more difficult time in determining if the order is valid in the current situation.

Without confirmed information showing an order is current and valid, officers, out of an abundance of caution, may choose to take no action on the order, as it cannot be verified.  Remember, an officer is considering the civil rights of all parties subject to the order; therefore, in the absence of verified information regarding the validity of an order, an officer will not take action to violate anyone's federally protected civil rights and as such, an officer may take no action.

If the order can be validated in one of the databases accessible to our officers, yes.

One of the databases our officers can access is on the national level. Per California law, a valid order issued by a valid court in another state may be honored by California Law Enforcement as if it were a California order.

For example, a restraining order issued to protect a person in the state of New Hampshire will be honored in California if it can be validated through the computer database. So, a California peace officer may take action or make an arrest for a violation of California law, even if the order was issued by another state’s court system. 

Per California law, our officers are not involved in the eviction process and do not enforce eviction orders.  The county Sheriff is responsible for all eviction processes, orders, and the execution of an eviction in person. Contact Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Evictions Unit at (510) 272-6878 for assistance. 

Fremont Police officers will respond to keep the peace, ensure safety of the community, or investigate other crimes not related to an eviction process.  Call FPD Dispatch if you need an officer for a non-eviction matter or 911 in an emergency. 

Fremont Police officers can assist parties involved with civil court orders by facilitating a decision made by the involved party regarding next steps. Officers may confirm the order is current, has been properly served to all involved parties, and whether or not a criminal violation has occurred.

With civil court orders, such as a child custody order, typically involved parties only need an officer to verify if a child exchange has or is occurring according to the terms established by the judge and agreed upon by the ordered parties. 

Officers may assist with a civil standby to ensure the peace as the civil parties complete an exchange.  Often, when the parties cannot come to an agreement on the interpretation or application of the order, officers may provide guidance, but generally do not take immediate action unless there is probable cause establishing a crime is occurring.

It is common for parties to defer the civil disagreement to a later date when they bring the matter back to the judge.  Officers may take written notes on their patrol car computer regarding the civil dispute, observations at the time by the officer, and an agreed upon disposition.  These notes can be obtained by the involved parties from the Fremont Police Records Unit for the civil court date at a later time. 

When an officer investigates civil violations of an order, the officer is determining if both parties were in compliance with the court order prior to officer being called. If both parties established an agreed upon pattern of behavior outside the stipulations of the order, it may nullify any claim that one party committed criminal action, when in fact both parties previously acted outside of the order.

A criminal order, such as a restraining; No harass, annoy, molest; or an emergency protective order may result in an arrest if an officer determined probable cause exists that a crime is occurring. When conducting this type of investigation, officers are looking into if the order: is current, has been properly served to the involved parties and that the actions taken by the suspect (restrained party, generally) are in violation of the guidelines established by the order. 

Officer’s investigations for these matters generally fall under one of two Penal Code laws: PC 166(a)(4) and PC 273.6.

PC 166(a)(4) is a criminal violation of a non-domestic violence court order.

Officers investigate to determine if there is probable cause that the order was violated. They partner with the reporting party to determine the best course of action for that person. These courses of action may be:

• follow up by the citizen in court proceedings later, with notes from the officer provided
• report documenting the incident.
• arrest of the violator.

PC 273.6 is a criminal violation of a domestic violence court order. 

Unless exigent circumstances exist, Fremont Police policy (316) and California Penal Code (853.6 and 13701(b)) require that officers make an arrest if probable cause shows the subject violated the order.  This arrest must occur even if the protected party does not want the arrest to be made. Officers do not have a choice in this matter, due to state law. 

Fremont Police Department has multiple policies in place regarding court orders. The following polices address court orders:

1. Policy 316- Domestic Violence
2. Policy 317- Civil Court Orders
3. Policy 366- Gun Violence Restraining Orders

Fremont Police Department encourages safe and peaceful child exchanges to comply with child custody orders. There are parking spots designated in front of the Fremont Police Department that are established for child exchanges. The parking spots are under video surveillance by FPD. FPD encourages families to utilize this space to accommodate peaceful and successful exchanges.

Only you can determine if you want an officer to respond and assist in a possible court order violation matter. When calling for officers to help, consider taking the following steps to ensure officers can give you the best help:

• Have a general idea of what outcome you desire. Do you need documentation of a missed exchange for future court dates? Do you need officers to advise you on what kind of order to seek or whether an order was violated?
• Have the most recent physical copies of your court order with you. The copies should have the court seal stamped on them, usually in the top right corner. If officers cannot verify the order as the most current, valid order, they may be limited in the actions they can take.
• If you utilized a court mediator or private attorney to create an agreed upon procedure (usually regarding child custody orders) and this procedure was adopted by the court, have the most recent version of the agreed upon procedure. Seek to have it entered into your court proceeding docket through the court clerk. This way, the document can be authenticated by the officer (who can review documents scanned by the Alameda County Court Clerk) as the current version agreed upon by both parties.