I am a first term prosecutor facing my first protective order. I know the respondent has counsel and that the petitioner has some issues that are not going to go well for her. Any pointers/tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

The most important thing is to remember what a protective order hearing is for and what you have to prove. This is not a criminal hearing- you don't have to prove the full elements of an assault case beyond a reasonable doubt- just satisfy 85.001: 1) Family violence has occurred and 2) family violence is likely to occur in the future.

There are two schools of thought regarding petitioners with "issues" and either one is appropriate in the right case. The first thing you can do is to simply object to relevance. If the respondent isn't offering something to rebut 1 or 2, it's not relevant. "She's mean to me" doesn't rebut that family violence has occurred. "She sleeps around with other guys" doesn't either. Neither does "She's an unfit mother." These are all simply blame the victim strategies that don't change the fact that the petitioner beat the crap out of his girlfriend. If you want to, object and try to keep them out.

I, personally, prefer to warn my petitioner ahead of time that I'm going to let it all in. In my opinion it just makes the respondent look like a scumbag. I also *love* it when the respondent tries to claim that "Well, I hit her because I was afraid she was going to attack me..." That's the point at which I'll have him stand up. Then have HER stand up, and then start asking him about how much he weighs, what gym he goes to, what sports he plays/played/coaches. In the right set of circumstances that can be very effective.

But really, just keep your eye on the ball. Focus on proving up the two things that you need, and what facts you have to show them. After all, if you didn't believe in your petitioner, you wouldn't have taken the protective order. It's just up to you to show the judge *why* you believe in her.

Don't forget you can also call the respondent as a witness, if you think that it will be beneficial to you.

Don't let anyone try to talk you into a "mutual" PO - they don't exist under the law. If the respondent wants a PO against your petitioner, then s/he can file one. Just not through your office, of course, as you'll be conflicted out.

A lot depends on whether your judge likes protective orders or despises them as to how the hearing will go.