My neighbor's restraining order got modified in 3 days after she sent 47 texts in one night

I live in a small complex in San Jose and one of my neighbors has been dealing with a guy who won't stop contacting her. She had a temporary restraining order already but he kept finding ways around it. Last Thursday she showed me the texts and there were 47 in a row from midnight to 6am. Her lawyer filed a modification request on Friday and the judge signed it by Monday. I didn't know they could move that fast in family court here. Has anyone else seen a quick turnaround on modifying a restraining order?

3 comments

3 Comments

mitchell.lee13d ago

My buddy's ex got a modification fast too after he sent 26 texts in one night. His lawyer just forwarded the screenshots to the court and the judge updated the order the next morning. The key is having a clear pattern like that, the courts don't mess around when they see it right in front of them.

mila_harris13d ago

I read somewhere that California courts actually started using digital evidence submission systems during the pandemic, so judges can pull up text logs and call records right on their screens instead of waiting for paper copies. 47 texts in one night is basically a textbook example of harassment, plus if she had timestamps showing they came every few minutes, that makes the pattern super obvious. My cousin went through something similar in LA last year and her lawyer told her that judges in domestic violence cases can sign off on modifications within 48 hours if the new evidence clearly shows escalation. The system is actually set up to move fast on these because the whole point of a temporary restraining order is to stop the situation from getting worse, not to make people wait around for weeks.

gavin69213d ago

The judge probably had the text logs right there, which makes it a lot harder for anyone to argue against the modification. Plus, California courts have been fast tracking domestic violence cases since the pandemic cleared out some of the backlog. That speed might actually be a sign the system is prioritizing safety over paperwork for once.