If you and your partner have been fighting and it resulted in a call to the police, your mind might be racing with potential criminal charges, jail sentences, and how these could affect your personal and professional life. But before you jump to conclusions, take some time to read through this post. First, you should know that domestic violence by itself is not a criminal charge. If you have been arrested for domestic violence, call a criminal defense attorney in New York who has knowledge and experience about the system to help you through the situation. It’s important to remain calm and listen to the advice of your domestic violence lawyer.
Domestic Violence
When a domestic violence call has been made to the police, they are required to make an arrest. But again, domestic violence is not a criminal charge unless there is also assault, harassment, and/or stalking involved. If convicted of these charges, you could be facing a B felony or as low as a misdemeanor with a sentence of jail time or up to 25 years in prison.
In many situations, a domestic violence call is made after an argument turns physical. Even if the situation has calmed down and the complainant states that they no longer want to press charges, if police are called, they are required to make an arrest. This is to prevent the police being blamed for not making an arrest and then a more serious crime is committed.
Proving Domestic Violence
Proving this type of case can be challenging, given that in many scenarios, there is a divorce action started and it may appear as if the complainant is trying to win an advantage with a violence allegation. Therefore, the prosecutor is left trying to prove violence based on either evidence of an attack, a past history of abuse, or witnesses to the violence, either neighbors or relatives.
Prosecutors may try to get an admission out of the accused or officers may try tricking a confession out by saying that if you tell us what happened, we won’t arrest you. Domestic violence cases don’t often make it to trial, but it is still important to have legal assistance. If you find yourself in a similar situation, it is imperative that you call a criminal defense attorney right away.
The Law Office Of Lisa Pelosi
If the police have been called in your domestic violence situation, call the criminal defense attorney Lisa Pelosi right away. If assault, sexual abuse, or strangulation are involved, it is even more crucial that you have legal representation.
- Second-degree assault is when the defendant intends to cause injury to their partner and hurts them using either a deadly weapon or harmful instrument.
- Sexual abuse is forcing your partner into a sexual act without their consent.
- First-degree strangulation, a class C felony, is restricting your partner’s breathing.
Whether any of these acts were done intentionally or not, you could be facing serious criminal charges, jail time, fines, or more, not to mention the negative effects these charges could have on your life and finances. Having a criminal defense attorney on your side could be the difference between years in jail and fines. Lisa Pelosi has worked in the New York City legal system for years and has the experience to fight for your case. Give us a call as soon as you find yourself in a challenging legal situation.
