To provide safety to domestic violence victims, law reform efforts provided victims with a civil remedy in which a judge orders the abuser to stay away from the victim. The research uses 1 rural county judicial system data to evaluate protective orders. Findings indicate that 42% of petitions are dismissed by petitioner's request or failure to prosecute. Moreover, court fees are not recouped in 79% of the cases. Logistic regression analysis indicate that an intimate relationship between the parties and payment of court costs by petitioner increased the probability of dismissal of petition upon petitioner's request; use of a gun and request to protect children increases the probability of applying the Brady Act; stalking and the issuance of the order of protection without social contact increased the probability of violations.