Domestic Violence Battery

Familial relationships are said to form the foundation of our society. Nuclear families are the building blocks of the United States, and the idea of the family unit is idealized on TV and in popular movies. Especially these days, members of modern families are forced to rely on each other for support, both moral and often financial as well. Stagnant wages and rising housing prices, among other things, have forced people to live with their families later in their lives and have driven people into relationships of necessity instead of the ideal relationships based on trust and love. These and other reasons often cause conflicts between close family members.

Florida lawmakers have taken the realities of close family relationships and used those realities to craft laws that can shatter relationships and punish people more harshly than normal. This type of law is known as a domestic violence law. Domestic violence laws cover a wide range of subjects. Contrary to popular belief, domestic violence on its own is not actually a criminal offense. Domestic violence is actually an aggravating factor that will cause certain cases to end up before a domestic violence judge and carry increased penalties for people convicted of offenses with the domestic violence modifier attached. For example, murder, child abuse, or stalking can all be offenses that are considered domestic violence. If you have been charged with or investigated for a domestic violence offense, you should not hesitate to contact a skilled Clearwater domestic violence lawyer to represent you.

By far the most common domestic violence offense is domestic battery. Again, domestic violence is not it’s own crime, but a crime can become a domestic violence offense depending on the relationship between the victim and the defendant. A domestic relationship is made up between family members or household members. Spouses and ex spouses, blood relations, those living together as a family, and parents and children are considered domestic relations for the purpose of the domestic violence statute. Those that are charged with certain criminal offenses where the victim is a family or household member can face the increased penalties associated with domestic violence offenses.

In order to prove someone guilty of domestic violence battery, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is a family or household member with the victim. The state must then prove the offense of battery. To prove a battery, the state must prove that the defendant intentionally touched or struck the victim against his or her will. If you have found yourself arrested for domestic violence battery, don’t assume the charges will just go away, you need to contact a skilled Clearwater domestic violence attorney to aid in your defense.

Domestic violence situations are treated differently by police because of the unique provisions of the law. Police officers that are called out to most crime scenes are permitted to conduct an investigation and determine the facts of the case before deciding to make an arrest or not. Police that are called out to a domestic violence situation are under a different set of rules. Many people call the police in the midst of a domestic issue because they want the officers to break up the situation or remove a person from their house, but they do not necessarily want the defendant to go to jail. Unfortunately, the police are required to arrest someone if called out do a domestic violence incident. If they do not make an arrest, the officers must draft a lengthy report explaining why they chose not to put anyone in cuffs. This law makes it much more likely for arrestees to be prosecuted by the State.

Consulting a skilled Clearwater domestic violence attorney can give you the best chance of obtaining a desirable result in your case. Don’t leave your case to chance, speak to our lawyers today at 727-897-5413.