Are you entitled to a continuance if you are the defendant in a civil harassment order hearing? Can the judge deny you one?

I would like to add some more to Mr. Hassen's response. Looking up the law on the internet is an exercise in frustration. We have special state law, specific federal law, and "multijurisdictional law" (which is effective in most states and not in all). Harrassment hearings in most states are considered emergency hearings; they are not full blown trials. In an harassment hearing some person has come to court and stated they need protection from someone who is harassing or even abusing them. While you may think the charge has no merit at all, the court knows neither party and so wants facts asap. If you want a continuance, hire a lawyer to argue it for you, and most times it is a waste of money because as good as the lawyer is, the judge runs the case, not the lawyer. In the past judges and the police often ignored desperate pleas for protection from petitioners with supposedly "imaginary" enemies. After several of these people wound up severely beaten or even dead, the courts and the police became very proactive. These hearings are not a joke, and violation of the terms of a restraining order can lead to incarceration. Discuss your options with a criminal defense lawyer in your state, and not by "looking up on the internet" law which does not exist in your state. States have varying rules as to access to RO information, most likely only violations are accessible , but you need to find out what the rule is in your state not in another one.