I have a story of restraining order abuse to share with your forum. I’ve published a detailed account of it online as part of a serial blog examining restraining order abuses. I’ve also started an e-petition to attract lawmakers’ attention to them. The web addresses are below. The restraining order taken out against me has long since expired (March 2007), but I understand from your mission statement that you prefer your contributors to speak of their experiences in general and not specific terms. With your permission, this is what I would like to post to your Restraining Order Abuse blog (and I’m glad to make any adjustments your forum rules mandate):

I was stalked several years ago by a woman who lingered nightly for hours in the dark outside of my house, engaged me in a sexually coercive relationship for a period of months while concealing from me she was someone’s wife, then lied to police and swore out a fraudulent restraining order against me in her husband’s name to conceal her hanky-panky from him—this while my mother, who had also befriended her, was being treated for breast cancer.

This woman, a professional scientist and cancer specialist whose father-in-law is the northwest regional medical director for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, both fabricated and falsified evidence, and will be vulnerable to prosecution for perjury until the fall of 2013. Her calculated lies to the police and courts included contrived allegations of sexual harassment and fear of assault to her, to her husband, to her friends, and even to her mother (who resided in a different part of the country). Anyone she was concerned I would talk to about her hanky-panky was alleged to be at risk of violence. The fallout from her obscene conduct and frauds has taken an immeasurable toll on me and damaged several others’ lives besides.

I’ve explored and editorialized on the politics and policies that made it possible for the woman in my narrative to do what she did in a serial blog, which I hope will serve as a resource to others, and have posted an online petition in the hope of brining lawmakers’ attention to these sorts of abuses of civil process so they can’t continue:

http://restrainingorderabuse.com
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/end-restraining-order-abuses

Please add your voice to both and bring them to the notice of others with a stake in these issues.