Domestic Violence

When people imagine or try to describe domestic violence, many will automatically think of a husband beating a wife.  This is an act of domestic violence but the term itself refers to a much wider range of behaviors and there are a myriad of criminal charges that can be filed accordingly. Domestic violence might be a woman assaulting or threatening her husband, parents neglecting, endangering or inflicting cruel or inhuman punishment on a child, a caregiver abusing an elderly citizen, an abusive family member damaging a telephone line to prevent a relative from calling the police, or even a scorned lover posting harmful information about the former partner on the internet or distributing “revenge porn” to cause emotional distress.
 
On the other hand, domestic violence incidents can sometimes be nothing more than a disagreement between two spouses and perhaps a third party called the police because they thought that they heard the noises of a physical altercation. The allegation of domestic violence in itself is very serious as law enforcement will usually proceed with its investigation even if the accuser recants his/her allegation or insists that he/she does not want to press charges.
 
Domestic violence charges can have serious consequences and steep penalties if convicted. This can mean prison time, heavy fines, compulsory counseling programs and a restriction on the ability to possess firearms. Moreover, domestic violence carries a heavy social stigma and having it on your record can make it very difficult to find a job. For this reason, if you are being accused of domestic violence, even if it appears to be an unfounded or insignificant charge, we invite you to contact us today and speak to one of our experienced attorneys. Your future is not worth the gamble.

The classic defense against a domestic violence charge is to prove that, if there was an injury, it came about through self-defense. Some men may think that they cannot legally use self-defense against a woman but this is simply untrue.
 
Our firm has also been successful arguing that injuries were caused accidentally.  This is particularly common in incidents involving alcohol. 
 
Walk Tree Law also defends our clients by proving that no domestic violence took place at all. Accusations of domestic violence are sometimes false and the result of one party trying to gain the upper hand in divorce or child custody proceedings.  A domestic violence conviction can be a cause to presume that someone is an unfit parent. 

Persons accused of Spousal Battery or PC 273.5, involve allegations of bodily injury caused to either (1) a former/current spouse, (2) the mother or father of a child, or (3) a person with whom you live or have lived with. A prosecutor must prove that there was intent to cause bodily harm and it caused trauma to the alleged victim.

These charges are emotionally driven and frequently involve false allegations related to retaliation and other motives. These charges have serious consequences in that Department of Child Services can get involved if there are children residing in the home.

This crime is also designated as a “wobbler” and a criminal defense attorney can have a spousal battery felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor. 
Our criminal defense team has successfully defended numerous domestic violence cases with the City Attorney and District Attorneys office.

If there is an allegation of violation of a domestic violence restraining order, that in itself is a crime under Penal Code 273.6. Once an order has been issued by a judge, it is entered into a law enforcement system known as CLETS. This order can be good for up to 5 years and can affect your rights to own a gun, immigration status, where you can live, visitation rights with children among other conditions.  Violations can be charged as misdemeanors or even felonies. Scorned ex spouses or others may try to fabricate charges against you on the bases of lies and evidence of “harassment” or even stalking. This he said she said type battle requires experienced attorneys to discredit, undermine and present admissible evidence of alibis when the fact situation demands it. A key question often turns on whether there was a valid restraining order to begin with? Perhaps it wasn’t even properly served. Exploring these issues requires effective counsel and advocates who will be by your side filtering through every single piece of evidence pointing to your innocent.

A domestic violence restraining order can be granted as an Emergency Protective Order until a hearing is held by a judge to determine whether or not a more permanent order should remain in effect. This is different from a criminal protective order, or a stay away order issued in criminal court while there are active criminal proceedings or pursuant to a conviction or guilty plea.

A criminal defense investigation and quick access to police records is essential to resolving these types of cases quickly and at the earliest stage of the process. Secure your freedom. Call for your free consultation today!