As a domestic violence attorney, I understand the importance of building a strong defense in order to protect my clients' freedom. In these cases, emotions run high and it is easy for everyone involved to escalate the seriousness of the situation; often leading to unnecessary criminal charges being filed. Many of our clients are innocent but due to emotions, misconceptions, or spite, they are charged with domestic violence. This is particularly common in divorce and custody cases where it is in the other partner’s interest to paint someone as a violent aggressor.
One of the challenges with domestic violence allegations is that there are usually no witnesses to support a defense since most alleged incidents happen within a home or structure. This is not true with every case but is extremely common. If you are accused of domestic violence, the prosecutor has the burden of proving that the event took place, how it happened, and that you committed a domestic violence crime. Not having witnesses means that it is your word against their word and very often, this can work against you.
We will start by investigating your case and asking important questions. As a domestic violence attorney, we will want to know everything leading up to the event in question, what you were doing during the event and what you did after. This will help us identify what pieces of evidence we need to gather, people we should interview, etc. It will also give us a baseline of information when reviewing the evidence that the prosecutor will be submitting.
When building your defense there are several common approaches that we can take, including:
It was not you. If you did not commit this act and believe that someone else is to blame, we will help you prove it. This can happen, for example, if the battery took place at night, and there was poor visibility that could have led the other person to truly believe it was you.
The act was not violence. If you and your current or ex-partner got into a fight and emotions were high, that does not necessarily mean violence occurred. By understanding exactly what happened during the incident, we can determine the best argument for this type of defense.
False allegations. There are many times where the allegations are completely fabricated. Since the incident would have occurred in the home with no witnesses, it is easy to lie or embellish. Unfortunately, this commonly happens when an individual is in litigation in family law court. A finding of violence by a family law or criminal court could mean that you will lose visitation with your children; resulting in higher child support payments. As a domestic violence attorney, we will analyze the police report and any evidence prosecution provides in order to look for inconsistencies. If the story is fabricated, there will almost certainly be inconsistencies.
There are many defenses to a domestic violence charge. To get help, give us a call.
