Jennifer Lopez's Security Team Blunder, Restraining Order is Dismissed

Jennifer Lopez is without protection today from a man who has allegedly been stalking her a long time.

A judge just dismissed a request for a permanent restraining order against Tim McLanahan, whom J Lo's security team claims has been following her from Vegas to Los Angeles, showing up at her L.A. home and sending her unwanted gifts.

Turns out Lopez's security team handled the restraining order business, and we're told they decided to not even show up in court Tuesday because they felt it would be useless, since they couldn't find McLanahan to serve him with legal docs. And that's why the judge dismissed the case.

Lopez had a temporary restraining order against the guy, claiming she was in fear for herself and her twins, but the order expired.

What the security team didn't know is this: if they couldn't find McLanahan to serve him, there's a process by which the judge could allow her team to publish a notice in a legal newspaper ... that would do the trick.

Had that happened, she probably would have won the permanent restraining order, and if McLanahan showed up on her property or within 100 yards of her again, they could have gotten him arrested.