Q: My boyfriend recently put a PFA on me. We got in a fight about me not wanting him to go somewhere with me. He went anyway and was mad when I wasn’t there. He screamed and called me names. I tried to explain but he would hang up and changed his number and blocked my emails. The day before he got the PFA he invited me over and told me he loved me, and we had sex. What he wrote on the PFA paper was about events from our past and a long time ago. I really don’t want a PFA on me or my record. I’ve never been in trouble before. Do you think there is a chance it could be dismissed? I have no desire to ever speak to him again. (McKeesport, PA)

A: No, final PFA hearings do not always end in a PFA Order against the defendant. Sometimes the case can be worked out to a civil agreement, sometimes the plaintiff withdraws the PFA and sometimes the PFA is denied by the judge after hearing testimony. You will do better with an attorney. He may have one appointed for him because he is the “victim”. Based on what you say, a judge should not find in favor of him. If you cannot afford an attorney, do the hearing yourself and just tell the judge your side of the story.