When an NCO Turns the Usual Logic on Its Head

The ordinary purpose of a no-contact order is protective: to restrict one person's ability to contact another when the court determines that such a restriction is necessary to protect the alleged victim.

But what happens when the alleged victim never requested that protection, the prosecution never sought it, and the defense itself asks the court to place the restriction upon the defendant?

That distinction matters.

In that circumstance, the restriction did not originate from the alleged victim saying, “I need protection from this person,” or from the State saying, “We believe this person presents a continuing risk.” It originated with the defendant's own request to restrict their communications.

Once the court adopts it, it becomes a real court order and must be treated accordingly. But the circumstances surrounding its creation remain important. If the record shows that neither the alleged victim nor the prosecution believed an NCO was necessary, then it becomes difficult to characterize the order as though it originated from an independently identified need to protect the victim.

There is also another concern worth examining: when a restriction on communication is voluntarily placed upon one party rather than requested by the person supposedly needing protection, what was the actual purpose of the restriction?

Without evidence of intent, nobody should automatically assume manipulation. But such an arrangement could potentially be misunderstood—or, in some circumstances, exploited—as a mechanism for enforced silence, isolation, or control. What looks like a protective restriction on paper can have very different practical consequences depending on who requested it, why it was requested, and how it is subsequently used.

That is why the record matters.

Who asked for the NCO?
Who said it was necessary?
What danger was it intended to prevent?
And whose rights and interests was it actually intended to protect?

Those questions should not disappear simply because a judge ultimately entered the order.

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