Which order, from which court
In New York, orders limiting contact between people are usually called orders of protection, and they can come from a criminal case, a Family Court proceeding, or a divorce. An alleged violation of any of them can lead to arrest and a criminal contempt charge, and a Family Court order can also be enforced through a violation petition in that court. Protection orders issued in other states are generally enforceable in New York as well, under federal law requiring states to honor each other's orders. A temporary restraining order in a business or property lawsuit is different; a violation there is usually raised as civil contempt within that case rather than through an arrest.
What the case usually turns on
Two questions tend to sit at the center: what the order in effect at that moment actually prohibited, and whether you knew about it and its terms. Orders are modified, extended, and replaced, and people are sometimes held to a version they never saw. The alleged conduct also needs a close look, since an unplanned encounter in a public place, a message sent by a child, or a reply to contact the protected person started can each raise different issues. None of that makes contact safe. It does mean the details of each alleged violation deserve careful review rather than an assumption that the case is simple.
The days after an alleged violation
If you learn that a violation has been reported, do not contact the protected person to clarify or smooth things over, and do not let relatives do it either. Keep your phone records, location history, and messages intact, since they may show where you actually were. If you have an open criminal case, a new allegation can affect your release in it, so your lawyer on that case needs to know immediately. At the start we pull every version of the order, confirm which court issued it, and compare its terms with the allegation. We also consider whether asking the court to modify the order is warranted for the future, for example to allow child exchanges.
