Categories of Evidence

Category 1

The evidence in the first category is usually associated with ‘relatively strong probative weight’. This includes:

A criminal conviction; a final protection order by contest

A final protection order at which the defendant did not appear

Direct witness accounts of violence or injuries.

Category 2The evidence in the second category – evidence of ‘less probative weight’ includes:

A final protection order made by consent or consent without admissions

An interim protection order granted in the absence of the respondent

Sworn or unsworn hearsay accounts of family violence.