Protection Order Against a Former Roommate in Idaho

Attorney Answer

Yes — a former roommate can qualify. Idaho's domestic violence protection order defines 'household member' broadly enough to include people who simply lived together, so the relationship element is the easy part. Proving the right kind of threat is the hard part.

Idaho Code § 39-6303 supplies the definitions for the Domestic Violence Crime Prevention Act. Subsection (6) defines household member as persons who reside or have resided together, and persons who have a child in common. No romantic relationship, marriage or family tie is required. Having lived with her is enough to get you through that door.

What the door opens onto is a second requirement: you still have to show domestic violence as the Act defines it — physical injury, sexual abuse, forced imprisonment, or the threat of those. Threats about money or about keeping your property, standing alone, generally do not meet it. If what she has said includes threats to hurt you, that is what the petition needs to lead with, in her words, with dates.

There is a second route that does not depend on any relationship at all. Idaho Code § 18-7907 authorizes a civil protection order against stalking, threatening telephonic or electronic harassment, and bias-based intimidation or harassment that causes or threatens injury or property damage. You must allege qualifying conduct occurring within 90 days and a likelihood that it will recur. The court holds a prompt hearing and can order no contact, exclusion within up to 1,500 feet, and other relief for up to a year, renewable. The order has to be served on her; once it is, violating it is a misdemeanor and officers may arrest without a warrant.

On your belongings: someone holding your property until you pay is a civil problem, and by itself it is not domestic violence or stalking. Do not let it become the centerpiece of a protection order petition, because it can make the threats look like a dispute over money. Pursue the property separately.

What you can do

1. Write out a dated timeline of every threat — the date, where you were, what she actually said, how it was delivered, and who else heard or saw it. Mark clearly which ones happened in the last 90 days. 2. Screenshot and back up every text, message, voicemail and social media post, including the sender information and timestamps. Save copies somewhere other than your phone. 3. Go to the court clerk in your county and ask for the protection order packet. Ask the clerk whether they will accept your petition electronically — filing practices differ by county — and ask what happens the same day you file. 4. Choose your route with the clerk's forms in front of you: the domestic violence order, using the household member definition because you resided together, or the § 18-7907 order for stalking and threatening harassment. The same facts can support either. 5. In the petition, put the threats of physical harm first and explain concretely why you expect them to continue. Attach your screenshots. 6. Go to the hearing with your evidence organized and any witnesses. A petition that is filed and then not pursued at the hearing usually ends there. 7. Handle the property separately: send one written demand for its return, keep proof, and if she refuses, file a small claims action for its value. Do not meet her alone to retrieve it — ask police for a civil standby.

⏱ Time limits apply. The civil protection order under Idaho Code § 18-7907 requires that the qualifying conduct have occurred within 90 days, which is a hard gate — whether your incidents fall inside it depends on the dates of what she said and did.