ORLANDO — A few years ago Grant Maloy said he “cringed” when he saw a young woman crying in a hallway at the Seminole County Courthouse while she filled out lengthy forms to ask a judge for a protective order from her abuser.
“I said: ‘This is not good,’” he recalled.
It can be a daunting and confusing task for a victim to file a request for a protective order, said Maloy, the county clerk of circuit court and comptroller.
So to make the process easier and more comfortable, he recently opened the domestic violence center at the James E.C. Perry Courthouse Annex in Sanford.
“The idea is that it’s a safe and calming place,” Maloy said. “But I also wanted it to be as private as possible … because some of them are going through an extraordinarily hard time.”
The center, at 91 Eslinger Way, is on the first floor behind a nondescript door next to a security entrance staffed by sheriff’s deputies. As far as Seminole court officials know, few counties in the state have an area to file requests for injunctions so close to law enforcement providing security.
In many Florida counties, a victim walks into a large bustling courthouse, fills out pages of legal forms in a busy public office and then wonders when a judge will issue a decision that could help stop the abuse.
But inside Seminole’s center, it’s a quiet place with a couch and colorful artwork on the walls. The center’s staff lead the person seeking a request for protection into one of two private, soundproof rooms with a table and computer monitor.
On the walls are motivational words arranged in a decorative pattern that provide encouragement. “You don’t have to be perfect, to be amazing,” one of them reads.
Trained employees can help guide in filling out the request. And staff from Safehouse of Seminole, a domestic violence service organization, are on hand to help, too.
Just outside the rooms is a small area where children can watch television or play with toys. On a recent morning, a young boy watched cartoons while his mother filled out forms.
After a request is completed, it’s immediately sent electronically to a judge — who can issue a temporary restraining order within minutes.
“In the old days, you were handed a clipboard and told to fill out paperwork,” Maloy said. “And then they had to be delivered to a judge. … And sometimes it was hard to read the handwriting.”
Jeanne Gold, CEO of Safehouse of Seminole, praised the center, saying it’s much different than filling out forms in a bustling courthouse where staff might be too busy to answer questions.
“You can walk in and close the door and take a deep breath and know that you are safe,” Gold said of the center. “I think this should be duplicated across the state.”
She noted that the center is inside the county’s new four-story courthouse annex adjacent to Seminole’s Criminal Justice Center, where courtrooms are located. That’s important because a frightened domestic abuse victim might fear being followed or running into an abuser while attending a court hearing.
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Explore all your optionsJanni Baldwin, who helps victims at the center, said an abused woman seeking a protective order recently was followed into the annex building by her alleged abuser before deputies were summoned.
“Anytime anyone needs an injunction, it can be uncomfortable and it can be scary,” Baldwin said.
Although the Orange County Clerk of Courts Office doesn’t have a similar domestic violence center, there’s a room on the courthouse’s third floor in the family law division where victims can file requests for orders electronically that are quickly sent to judges.
“We help them file the injunction,” clerk spokesperson Dain Weister said.
Last year, the Seminole Clerk of Courts processed about 1,360 injunction cases. On a typical day since it opened in March, about a dozen men and women show up at the center to fill out requests for protective orders.
On average, just over 110,000 injunctions are filed a year in Florida, according to the state’s court system.
A protective order signed by a judge may require a person not to have any contact with the individual who filed the request. Under state and federal laws, the subject of the injunction is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
There is no charge to file a request for a protective order.
How to get help
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Here’s how to reach Tampa Bay’s domestic violence agencies for help:
Hillsborough County: Call or text The Spring of Tampa Bay’s 24-hour crisis line at 813-247-7233 or visit thespring.org. The Talk to You line is 813-248-1050.
Pasco County: Contact Sunrise of Pasco County via its 24-hour hotline at 888-668-7273 or 352-521-3120, or go online to sunrisepasco.org.
Pinellas County: Contact Community Action Stops Abuse, or CASA, by calling the 24-hour hotline at 727-895-4912, texting casa-stpete.org/chat or visiting casapinellas.org. The Talk to You line is 727-828-1269.
Domestic violence warning signs
Abuser isolates victim from friends or family.
Victim is encouraged or forced to stop participating in activities important to them.
Abuser controls finances or puts victim on an allowance, asks for explanations of spending.
Victim is blamed for their feelings, yelled at or made to feel “small.”
Abuser criticizes and controls victim’s appearance, including what they can wear.
Abuser abandons victim in places they don’t know.
Abuser keeps victim from eating, sleeping or getting medical care.
Abuser throws or punches things around victim.
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