Background
Federico Martinez III and Amanda King are parents of a minor child. On July 8, 2026, the trial court entered a family violence protective order against Martinez that prohibited his visitation with the child.
Martinez timely filed an application for discretionary review, including a challenge to the visitation restriction. Domestic-relations orders ordinarily require a discretionary application to begin appellate review.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals granted Martinez’s application. It held that, because the protective order restricts visitation, it is a child-custody order subject to direct appeal.
The court did not decide whether the visitation restriction was proper. It directed Martinez to file a notice of appeal in the trial court within ten days, if he had not already done so, and directed the trial-court clerk to include the order in the appellate record.
Key Takeaways
- A family violence protective order addressing visitation qualifies as a child-custody proceeding for appellate-jurisdiction purposes.
- Orders awarding, refusing to change, or modifying child custody are directly appealable.
- A timely discretionary application may be granted when the challenged order was directly appealable.
Why It Matters
The order confirms that litigants challenging visitation restrictions in family violence protective orders may proceed by direct appeal. The ruling is procedural only and leaves the merits of Martinez’s challenge for the eventual appeal.