What happens if the respondent violates the injunction?
Respondents who violate a domestic violence injunction may be held in criminal contempt of court, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of 5 months and 29 days in jail. Additionally, many violations of a domestic violence injunction constitute a separate and distinct criminal offense. Depending on the number and type of violations, these criminal offenses may be misdemeanors (punishable by up to 1 year in jail) or felonies (punishable by up to 5 years in prison). “Family or household member” means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit. See Section 741.28(3), Florida
