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Charges of domestic violence and are very often inked to retaliation, revenge or a divorce /child custody battle gone wrong. These charges often tend to surface during a family dispute, or when a child custody battle has become exceedingly volatile.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that the law takes a grim view of such charges. There is also a widespread public revulsion to someone who is physically violent towards an intimate partner. Any conviction of domestic violence charges could have widespread ramifications for your personal and social lives.
Many people who have been charged with domestic violence don’t take these kinds of charges seriously. However, the fact is that very often, charges of domestic violence can seriously disrupt your life, especially your personal life. Domestic violence charges can very often coincide with a temporary restraining order being taken out against you. That means that you may have to move out of your home, and may have very restricted access to your children.
There are several misconceptions about domestic violence and one of the most dangerous of these is that you have to cause physical injury during an argument for domestic violence charges to be filed against you.
Remember, that there is no need for the victim in your case to suffer any kind of physical injury for domestic violence charges to be filed against you. Charges can be filed even if you were not violent in the case. For instance, if you had an argument with your girlfriend, and smashed a smart phone against the wall, she could still turn around and file domestic violence charges against you. It is only necessary for her to prove that you had the intention of intimidating, controlling or punishing her. You don’t necessarily have to have even intended to cause physical injury.
Besides, charges of domestic violence can also affect your personal and professional lives. A prison sentence can become part of penalties, and you may also be asked to undergo court -mandated therapy.
Apart from revenge, retaliation, and jealousy, domestic violence charges are often also related to intoxication. A drunk person is much less likely to be in complete control over his faculties, and may make physical actions that could be construed as violence. Apart from this, domestic violence is also very often a form of self-defense. However, police officers arresting you were not at the scene when the actual violence or event occurred, and therefore, are not in a position to judge whether it was an act of self-defense.
Very often, domestic violence cases come right down to “he said, she said,“ which means that you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer on your side who can help present your side of the story, so that your reputation is protected.
Domestic violence charges are even more serious, because they cannot be dropped by the person who brought the charges. If a wife brings charges against her husband for domestic violence, and later, after tempers have cooled down, wants to withdraw charges, she’s not allowed to do for. The only person who can drop the charges is the state prosecutor.
Consequences of Domestic Violence Offenses
It’s very important to get in touch with a domestic violence attorney in Denver as soon as you are charged with domestic violence. These are very serious charges, and many of the procedures and processes involved in the prosecution of domestic violence offenses differ from the procedures involve in other types of criminal prosecutions.
Laws like mandatory arrest, and the inability of the accuser to be able to drop charges against the defendant make these charges very serious indeed. For instance, if you have been charged with a domestic violence misdemeanor, and have previous convictions or offenses on your record, then it is even more important to you to get legal guidance immediately. Remember, that the law allows the charges against you to be bumped up to a felony if there are multiple convictions on your record.
If you have already been convicted of acts of domestic violence on three previous occasions, then the law will now designate you a habitual domestic violence offender. You may be charged with a class 5 felony. The penalties for a class 5 felony are immediately more serious, and could include a jail term of up to three years.
A criminal conviction for domestic violence could immediately be entered on a criminal record. That means that it is immediately accessible to potential employers who may be considering you for a position at their firm. A criminal background check could easily reveal a conviction, and employers these days liberally use background checks and criminal screening checks in order to look for criminal records of potential applicants. No one wants to hire a person who has a conviction of physical abuse or physical violence working in his company.
Employers are very wary about having persons who have violent tendencies working for them because of the risk to other employees at the company. Besides, employers are likely to believe that a violent employee with a criminal record is much more likely to be involved in a violent altercation not just at work with employees, but also with customers, vendors, suppliers and other business-related interests.
This is not a risk that many employees wish to take. Not surprisingly, if your criminal conviction for domestic violence comes up on a background screening check, then it is highly likely that you will not get that job that you apply for. If you are convicted of domestic violence, and in a position that places you in a position of authority, you may find that you lose your job because of a conviction. For instance, a teacher or a public health official may find that their employment prospects are threatened by the domestic violence conviction.
If you have been convicted of certain domestic violence crimes, or included in certain domestic violence protective orders, then you may not be able to continue to retain a gun in your possession.
Colorado domestic violence attorneys find that among the many consequences of domestic violence is the impact it can have on a person’s family life. A restraining order taken out by your spouse could include children, and you may find that you are not able to meet your children or have any contact with them. If your divorce has involved allegations of domestic violence, you could also find that the allegations against you are used by your spouse’s attorney to restrict your access to the children.
