Domestic Violence Criminal Charges

Domestic violence is generally characterized as violent conduct toward a current or former intimate partner, spouse, household member, family member, or child. While domestic abuse is usually a pattern of aggressive and abusive conduct toward another, domestic violence charges can stem from one single incident.

Domestic abuse charges have serious criminal and collateral consequences beyond a criminal record. Seek out a criminal defense attorney if you are arrested and get legal advice about all of your potential defenses to this serious criminal charge.

What Is Domestic Violence?

Most states define domestic abuse as an act done with the intent to cause the fear of bodily harm or actually cause bodily harm. A domestic violence offense can cover a broad number of behaviors including:

• Physical abuse: Inflicting violence or serious bodily injury, forcing alcohol or drug use, denying food or medical treatment, holding a person captive, or restricting their movement
• Sexual abuse: Forcing, coercing, or attempting any sexual behavior, demanding a person perform sexual acts or expose sexual body parts, or using verbally demeaning sexual language
• Emotional or psychological abuse: Diminishing another’s self-esteem, name-calling, constantly criticizing, isolating their personal relationships, blackmailing, threatening violence against their family, friends, or pets, detrimentally interfering with other aspects of their life

• Threats: Using verbal, written, or body language as forms of intimidation
• Stalking and cyberstalking: Continually spying on or following, appearing at their home or place of employment, sending unwanted gifts, collecting information or photographs of them, harassing them in person, or sending repeated unsolicited communications online

Although this crime is uniquely defined by each state, the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has heavily influenced states to expand domestic violence laws and increase the penalties. Amendments to the law passed in 2022 added more protections, including improving services and support for survivors from underserved and LGBTQ+ communities.

Protections included laws against dating violence, stalking, cyberstalking prosecutions, improving the training of sexual assault forensic examiners, and creating the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Denial Notification Act. This background check law helps law enforcement prosecute and investigate people who are not legally allowed to possess deadly weapons and firearms.

What Happens if You Are Charged With Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence charges can result in a permanent criminal record for misdemeanor or felony offenses. A domestic abuse conviction can also affect other aspects of your life, including future employment.

Police officers in most jurisdictions have the authority to make an arrest on the scene of a domestic violence complaint if they have probable cause or if you are violating a restraining order. In domestic violence cases, you can be prohibited from owning or possessing a gun. Laws may also prevent you from working with vulnerable adults or children if you are convicted on domestic violence charges.

Domestic violence is also an enhanceable offense in some jurisdictions. An enhanceable offense means that if you have committed a domestic abuse act in the past within a set time frame, the current charge automatically elevates to a higher-level charge, like from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor.

What Are Defenses to Domestic Abuse Criminal Charges?

You are presumed innocent until proven guilty. After you have been charged or arrested, a criminal defense attorney can investigate your case to identify legal defenses. This may include talking to witnesses or gathering physical evidence or photographs of injuries you received that may support your defense. Typical defenses to this criminal charge include:

• That you acted in self-defense
• That you acted in defense of others
• You had a lack of intent to cause fear or physical bodily harm

While the alleged victim may decide to drop the allegations, that doesn’t mean the prosecutor will dismiss the criminal charges. Prosecutors can still file charges for domestic abuse even if the victim doesn’t want them to. Some evidence rules allow prosecutors to use an alleged victim’s prior statement through recordings or other evidence, even if they don’t want to testify in open court.

While you are going through this process, you should not speak to the other party at all. If anyone does need to speak to the alleged victim, your attorney should handle any communication. There may be a no-contact order, restraining order, or protection order that prevents any contact. Contacting the alleged victim can jeopardize your case.

What Are the Penalties for Domestic Violence?

Every state imposes its own set of penalties for the crime of domestic violence, and the punishment you receive depends on the nature of your situation, any criminal record, and whether you are facing misdemeanor or felony charges.

A typical sentence may include having to perform community service, attend anger management classes, serve jail time, and be on probation. It is also common for the court to grant a protective order, meaning you will not be able to be near the alleged victim. If you violate the order and have contact with a family or household member of the alleged victim, you can face additional charges.

There are other legal effects of a domestic violence arrest as well. You may lose child custody or visitation rights. The status of any professional license or certification you have may be in jeopardy. It could become harder to work in a field with vulnerable populations, like medicine, teaching, nursing, or daycare. Additionally, under federal law, you may not be able to purchase or own a gun whether you receive a misdemeanor or felony conviction.

Do I Need a Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer?

You should not consider facing domestic violence charges or plea bargain negotiations without a criminal defense lawyer by your side. A lawyer can protect your rights, speak with law enforcement, look for evidence, negotiate a more favorable outcome, or represent you in court if your case goes to trial.