Domestic violence is generally an allegation of a harmful physical touching by one person against another person who is either a spouse, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a co-habitant, a domestic partner, or a former lover.
An experienced domestic violence lawyer with over 30 years of trial experience protects your rights and helps in many important ways.
What Can I Do If I am Accused of Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence cases can arise quickly because a witness, neighbor or passerby calls the police.
When the police arrive, they will immediately seek to separate all the people and ask them questions about what happened.
The police will photograph injuries, if there are any, and then will make an arrest of the person who they think is the primary aggressor.
When this happens to you or someone close to you, the best thing to do is get legal representation right away.
An experienced criminal defense attorney helps his client get out of jail as soon as possible and can attempt to have the charges dismissed by contacting the prosecutor’s office with important information.
Can Domestic Violence Charges be Dismissed or Reduced with the Help of the Alleged Victim?
Yes. In many cases of domestic violence, there are two versions to the story of “abuse,” and the alleged “victim” may have contributed to the alleged altercation.
Attorney Pflaum gathers information from both the accused and the complaining witness, as well as other witnesses, to present to the prosecution to prevent or reduce the criminal charges.
The type and form of information will depend upon the state of the evidence, the background of the persons involved, and the type of domestic violence charge.
How the Lawyer Helps to Dismiss or Reduce Domestic Violence Charges
To cast doubt on the accuracy and sincerity of the evidence against the accused, the defense attorney can use any of these strategies:
- If the alleged victim was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, his/her ability to recall information about the incident might diminish his/her credibility
- If there was no witness to confirm or corroborate the act of domestic violence
- If there was no physical evidence to confirm or corroborate the act of domestic violence
- If you used physical force to defend yourself from an immediate threat of physical harm, the attorney can demonstrate you used self defense to protect yourself
What is Abuse
The law states that “abuse” is:
- To physically injure, or attempt to injure, another person, either intentionally or recklessly
- To sexually assault somebody
- To cause someone a reasonable fear that he/she will be seriously injured such as threats of harm or to seriously injure another
- To harass, stalk, threaten or hit another, disturb the peace of anyone or destroy the personal property of another
Physical abuse is not just hitting another person. Abuse can take the form of kicking, pushing, pulling hair, throwing objects, stalking, or preventing movements of a person.
Also, note that domestic violence need not be physical, though must often it is. Abuse can be oral or written, emotional or psychological. Physical injuries are not necessary to prove abuse, though they are most often present in the case.
Call the right defender for help
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