Florida Domestic Violence Defense
Domestic Violence is a politically motivated area of the law.
Law enforcement is under pressure to make arrests for Domestic
Violence in order to receive federal funding guaranteed to them so
long as they can show "results." In these cases, results means
arrests. Quite a sad testimony to our society today - but it
is true.
We are a Central Florida Law office practicing Domestic Violence Defense throughout Central Florida. If you have been arrested for violence domestic related such as battery, assault, stalking, etc. call us for a free consultation. Domestic violence charges are very serious. If found guilty you will lose your right to bear arms and if you are not a citizen you will be deported. Have a domestic violence attorney help you today. Call (407) 841-5555 to speak with a domestic violence attorney.
About Domestic Violence: A charge that can scar you for life...
If you are charged with domestic violence you will immediately be kicked out of your home and lose your Right to possess firearms. If you are found guilty of a Domestic Violence offense your record will be permanently marred. This means anyone can look it up and see the charges about domestic violence. Most will automatically conclude you are a wife-beater. You will have to attend a 26-week batterers intervention program for which you must also pay. Like most court ordered contract-counseling programs, these are usually money mills taking more care in collecting your money than in counseling anyone. Your Right to possess firearms will be nixed, and, on top of all that, you are facing up to a year in jail. This is just for a misdemeanor domestic violence case. All this! not to mention the scarring it will do to your relationship with your accuser, who is typically a spouse that never meant for it to go this far.
If you are not a citizen of the United States and you are found guilty of domestic violence there is a very good chance you will be deported. Domestic violence is a deportable offense. All none citizens should hire an attorney experienced with domestic violence defenses.
The key about defending a domestic violence case is to act fast. We have defended many people accused of domestic violence and we have come to realize that the earliest intervention is the best. Call us today if you have been accused of domestic violence. (407) 841-5555.
The Sad Truth about Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is another politically motivated and heavily enforced offense currently in the Florida criminal law statutes. More and more we hear about an arrest for spousal abuse and domestic violence batteries, domestic violence assaults, and even domestic violence murders (Note: You do not hear about convictions for this charge). For the victims of real domestic violence these laws are a great start. But for those who have not committed domestic violence - the law can have devastating results.
Here is the most important piece of advice on defending these cases - act fast. Statistics show that a timely effort can make all the difference. Hire an attorney that has a plan of attack before you arrive for a consultation. These cases need to be attacked from the very beginning for the best results. The earlier an attorney can enter the case the greater chance the state will file a "no information" notice - and that means dropped or dismissed. If you or your attorney waits, the state attorney's office will file the charge and post-arraignment court dates will ensue. We have found that by getting into a case early, before filing, we have a greater chance of getting the state attorneys office to drop the case before it ever gets to court.
Put on your boots - it's getting deep! All domestic violence cases are reviewed and filed by specialized prosecutorial teams (who, by the way, are not formally trained in the psychology of domestic violence or spouse abuse). By statute, all State Attorney's Offices must provide specialized units to prosecute domestic violence cases. These cases are taken very seriously by the State Attorneys throughout Florida. But being taken seriously does not necessarily mean intelligently. Cases in point:
Most domestic violence prosecutors pass through a seminar put on by the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. At this seminar there are many Domestic Violence Chiefs from the respective Offices of States Attorneys. An example of the brainwashing that occurs is evident from one outline written by a lead prosecutor that I once interviewed with just before leaving law school. On her wall as I walked in to be interviewed was a sign that read "All Men Are Assholes." Her seminar outline included this list of goals for the victim and prosecutor:
A. Victim's Goal
1. Win: Stop the beating that was occurring at the time of the arrest.
2. Win: Get the batterer into counseling and/or to stop drinking.
3. Win: Make things better at home.
B. Your Goal [Prosecutor's goal]
1. Win: Convict the defendant.
2. Win: Convict the defendant.
3. Win: Convict the defendant.FPAA "Domestic Violence Basic Prosecution" Cape Canaveral, November 14-16, 2001.
Even more absurd, today a 10 year old boy who gets in a fight with his brother, say age 8, can be arrested for domestic violence (which if convicted would require a 26 week batterer's intervention counseling program). Fathers have been arrested for disciplining their teenage sons, young men have been arrested on bare allegations by a scorned ex-girlfriend, and a 73 year old grandmother has been jailed because neighbors heard a loud argument. I wish I was making this up...
This is not responsible prosecution (or law enforcement). First, all true Domestic Violence batterers may be assholes but they are not all men (see http://www.batteredmenshelpline.org/). Second, this head of the domestic violence unit in a prominent State Attorney's Office has concluded that everything can be solved for the alleged victim if the state convicts the accused. Is it really that simple? Will a conviction automatically stop the beatings for true domestic violence offenders? Will a conviction automatically stop an alcoholic from drinking? Will a conviction really make things better at home?
What happens when the defendant is fired for the conviction? Is unemployment an enhancement to a relationship? And for those who were just having an ordinary argument this solves nothing! Note the gender bias, the lack of proof of repetitive violence, the bias toward alcoholism (as if all true batterers are alcoholics, which they are not although they will be treated as such if convicted), and the failure to mention the alleged victim's wishes - what does a prosecutor do if the victim does not wish to prosecute?
Unfortunately, young prosecutors are not given any direction for that inevitability in domestic violence cases. Recantation and declining to prosecute happens in most cases because it is either not a true domestic violence situation (repeat violence behavior) or it truly is. Confused? It's normal - domestic violence is a complicated psychological issue but when it comes to prosecution - justice takes a low road avoiding intelligence in order to win, win, win and convict, convict, convict the accused at the expense of the alleged victim, the courts, and the rest of us that bear the burden of the cost of this round-up.
And what about the true domestic violence abusers? And the abused that live in the cycle of violence? Those statistics are never revealed as they are cast among the many to be lost in the judicial process.