Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Each year, more than 100,000 people are hurt and more than 30,000 die from gunshot wounds. Studies show that those who are involved in dangerous conduct are significantly more likely to perpetrate violence against themselves or others in the future. If you believe your parent, spouse, child or another member of your household is at risk of hurting themselves or hurting somebody else, you may be able to obtain an extreme risk protection order. At Blair & Kim, our Seattle civil protection order attorneys understand how terrifying it is to worry that a member of your household could harm someone else, and we may be able to represent you in your efforts to secure a temporary or final order of this nature.

Often those who are dangerous to themselves or other people give off warning signs. For example, mass shooters often show warning signs before taking any lives, but historically there have not been clear legal channels through which to suspend their access to guns. Warning signs that someone may commit violence against himself or another include alcohol or drug abuse, violent threats, self-harm, and more.

In Washington, under section 7.94.010, it is possible to obtain an extreme risk protection order to temporarily stop people at high risk of hurting themselves or others from getting guns. If you are a family member or household member of the person in question, or if you are a policeman, you can obtain such a court order if you can show evidence that someone presents a noteworthy danger, including danger due to a dangerous mental health crisis or violent conduct. These court orders are supposed to be restricted to situations in which somebody presents a significant risk of injuring himself or someone else by possessing a firearm, while still including safeguards to protect due process and other rights of the person you seek to restrict.

Under the statute, a family or household member is defined as (1) anybody related by marriage, blood, or adoption to the respondent, (2) someone who is dating the respondent, (3) someone parenting a child with the respondent, (4) someone who lives with or has lived with the respondent within the last year, (5) the respondent's domestic partner, (5) a parent of the respondent, including stepparents, step children, grandchildren, or grandparents who live with the respondent or have within the last year, (e) the respondent's domestic partner, (f) person who has a biological or legal parent-child relationship with the respondent, including grandparents, stepparents, stepchildren and grandchildren, and (g) someone serving or who has served as a legal guardian to the respondent.

An extreme risk protection order can be either an ex parte temporary order or a final order; an experienced lawyer can help you determine which one to seek. In order to petition for an extreme risk protection order, a petitioner will need to qualify to petition as a family or household member of the person she seeks to restrain and file in the country where either she or the respondent has residence. The petition needs to claim the respondent (1) presents a significant danger of trigger personal injury to self or others (2) by possessing or having in his control a firearm. The petition needs to be accompanied by a sworn affidavit specifying what facts or words of the respondent have given rise to a reasonable fear of future dangerous acts. The affidavit should also identify how many, what kind, and locations of firearms believed to be in the respondent's control. If there's already an existing protection order, such as a sexual violence protection order or a domestic violence protection order put in place against the respondent, it should be identified. Additionally, if there are any pending lawsuits, petitions, complaints or other actions between the parties under the laws of Washington, they should also be identified.

When a petition claims that disclosing the petitioner's address would endanger the petitioner or the petitioner's family, it is possible to leave off the petitioner's address from the paperwork filed with the court.

If you need to obtain or fight an extreme risk protection order in Seattle, you should retain an experienced, skillful lawyer who understands both criminal and family law consequences. At Blair & Kim, we represent people throughout King County, Redmond, Kirkland, and Bellevue. Call us at (206) 622-6562 or contact us via our online form.