A restraining order is a court order restricting a person from doing something. It can be temporary or permanent. For example, a court order prohibiting family violence is a restraining order. This type of order is issued most commonly in cases of domestic violence. The court order can prohibit a person from harassing, threatening, and sometimes merely contacting or approaching another specified person. A court may grant an ex parte restraining order in a family-violence case if it is necessary to (1) achieve the government's interest in protecting victims of family violence from further abuse, (2) ensure prompt action where there is an immediate threat of danger, and (3) provide governmental control by ensuring that judges grant such orders only where there is an immediate danger of such abuse.