3 Ways a VPO Can Affect Your Life
Having a Victim Protection Order (VPO) filed against you in Oklahoma can affect your life for years after the original incident. In this article, we’ll talk about three of the most significant ways: firearm ownership, background checks, and the stigma of having a VPO in your past.
Firearm Ownership
Under federal law, a person with an active Victim Protection Order in effect against them cannot lawfully own or use a firearm.
Oklahoma firearm laws also consider many types of convictions and protective orders (POs) as red flags that prevent you from gun ownership.
According to the Tulsa County District Court, if you are currently subject to a permanent victim’s protective order authorized by the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act, you are ineligible for an SDA (Self Defense Act) license. The preclusive period is 3 years from the date of the entry of the final court Order, or 60 days from the date the order was vacated, canceled or withdrawn.
This means that you may not apply for a gun license or expungement for 3 years after your final court order was issued, or 60 days after it was canceled or withdrawn, but even then it may become difficult to regain access to your rights.
VPOs entered before November 1, 1999 were permanent unless specifically limited by the presiding judge. Many people who had VPOs entered against them prior to 1999 don’t realize that they technically still have an active Order and therefore cannot own a firearm. Also, many courts do not automatically vacate lapsed Protection Orders. In both cases, defendants can petition the judge to vacate the Order.
Clean Slate law has worked with many clients to have pre-1999 VPOs vacated retroactively so they become immediately eligible to seek an expungement, rather than having to wait 3 years.
2. Background Checks
Though a VPO is a civil matter rather than a criminal conviction (unless the defendant violates the terms of the Order), it’s still relatively easy to find during a routine background check on OSCN or ODCR. It’s hard to quantify the effect on a person’s employment, but there’s no question that it communicates potentially troublesome information. According to legal guidelines, VPOs are issued due to certain acts and behaviors, such as:
Harassment
Stalking
Threats that resulted in reasonable fear of bodily injury
Courts perceive that the person subject to the restraining order poses a credible threat to the physical safety of another person
It is easy to see how someone reviewing a background check containing a VPO may not be interested in hiring a person with a VPO on their record. Housing applications can be rejected for the same reason.
3. Stigma
Having any type of troublesome event in your past can weigh on you as time goes on. You may not be the same person you were at the time of the incident, but it’s hard for others to look past it if they find out about it. Simply knowing that you have a distressing incident that could show up on a background check can stop you from pursuing new employment or education opportunities.
Instead of letting your past hold you back and stop you from building a better life, consider erasing your Victim Protection Order with an expungement.
Meeting the Conditions for a VPO Expungement
There are 4 scenarios that will qualify an individual to expunge a VPO in Oklahoma:
Order is terminated due to: dismissal before a full hearing or denial of the petition at a full hearing. 90 days after any of these scenarios, expungement may be pursued.
If the plaintiff files an application for a protective order and fails to appear for the full hearing and at least 90 days have passed since the date last set for the court hearing, including any postponements, rescheduling, or continuances.
Three (3) years have passed since the original order was vacated.
Death of the plaintiff or defendant.
If any of these conditions have been met, a person is eligible to file a petition for expungement.
Work with an Oklahoma Expungement Lawyer
Having a VPO filed against you in Oklahoma can weigh heavily on you and affect the choices you make for your life. It can also remove your ability to own a firearm and make it harder to get the type of job you want. An experienced Oklahoma expungement attorney can help you successfully apply for an expungement so you can put the incident in your past. If you’re ready to gain peace of mind and clean your slate, then speak with an attorney at Clean Slate Law today.
