Domestic Violence Lawyer Stockton

Domestic Violence Services Available in English & Russian

Being accused of domestic violence can make you feel like your world is coming undone. A charge may be enough to prevent you from seeing your kids or lead to a series of restraining orders. While assault and battery charges are serious under California law, violence against someone you live with is often viewed as a more severe offense. Therefore, domestic violence cases are often complex and may involve a history of trouble. Our defense team at the Law Office of Jennifer A. Niemeyer has more than 16+ years of experience.

Types of Domestic Violence

In the state of California, many different crimes fall under the banner of domestic violence. Injuring a spouse, child, or cohabitant in a violent way is considered a criminal act. Even if you grabbed someone’s arm too hard during an argument, you could be charged with domestic violence.

Anyone who has been in a domestic violence situation knows that when police are called its likely someone will be arrested. The police who come out may be city police or sheriff’s department depending on where you live.

This report is crucial in determining how a domestic violence case will proceed. Statements from a victim and the person arrested are often filled with inaccuracies and misstatements due to the contentious nature of the event. A defendant has no input into what will go into the officer’s report before it is sent to the prosecution. Once in the hands of a prosecutor, it is their job to decide if formal criminal charges should be filed.

Professional investigators can often make the difference in having a case dismissed or even obtaining a dismissal at trial. Evidence of domestic violence and initial statements made to the police can be devastating to a defendant. Having experts who seek information early in the process can save a case that otherwise would be impossible to bring to a jury.

One perpetuating myth about domestic violence is that women are the only victims. This common misconception is damaging in a variety of ways. It can discourage male victims of domestic abuse from speaking out and trivialize their suffering. While statistically, women are victims of domestic abuse more often than men, this should not diminish the fact that men are victims as well. Men have as much right as women to come forward, report domestic violence, and seek retribution.

The best way to start a defense of any domestic violence case is to speak with a Stockton domestic violence attorney who has tried and won cases in jury trials. Domestic violence cases have many complex elements that require experience to understand. From the early investigation of witnesses and victim statements, to domestic violence trauma experts; everything matters in these cases. The process of how a jury receives evidence and can appreciate the story being told is crucial to winning a case.

What can be tragic in these cases is that many times it is the longtime victim of domestic abuse who will get arrested. Many domestic violence victims have suffered abuse and harm for years without ever reporting the incidents or filing charges with the police. However, it only takes one call to the police to have them come out and arrest the wrong person.

Abuse victims often become enraged and can seek to protect themselves and their families following repeated instances of harm. The police, of course, can’t look back in time at the long history of abuse a person suffered, they only look at the scene they are presented with. Being on the wrong side of a police call for domestic abuse can be devastating.

In almost all domestic violence cases the city attorney or district attorney will request the court to issue a criminal protective order, often at arraignment. A defendant facing misdemeanor or felony charges for domestic violence or battery will likely face this type of restraining order. Misdemeanor domestic violence PC 243(e)1 is also known as the domestic battery law.

Unlike other misdemeanor offenses, when a client is charged with domestic battery, they are required to personally appear before the court for every hearing. At the arraignment date the accused will be informed of what criminal charges they are facing and when the offense is alleged to have occurred.

A judge will decide to issue a criminal protective order if the Court believes it is reasonably likely to occur or there has been:

This means that you will be restricted from making any contact with the protected party until the outcome of your case is decided. These restraining orders are used in all felony and misdemeanor domestic violence cases. Special circumstances can be used to ensure that visitation between parents and children can continue.

A violation of a protective order is addressed in California Penal Code 136.1; it is punishable as a misdemeanor or felony (wobbler). Any individual who does or attempts to dissuade a person from attending a trial or giving testimony in a proceeding can be charged with violation of a protective order. If the violation or attempted intimidation is accompanied by the use or threat of force, or if the individual has previously been convicted of violating CA PC 136.1, the offense can be charged as a felony and punished with significant time in state prison.

Such intimidation or violations do not have to be proven specifically but can be alleged as a “continuous course of conduct” offense. The prosecutor can attempt to prove this by showing multiple instances of intimidation or criminal threat under CA Penal Code 422 or stalking under CA Penal Code 646.9.

If your domestic violence lawyer is able to get involved in your case early on, then yes it is possible. The first step after a domestic violence arrest is getting in touch with the prosecutors’ office to discuss the case. Gathering additional statements and evidence from witnesses and victims can be crucial to preventing formal charges.

A formal motion and hearing must be set in front of a judge to ask that the arrest record involving domestic violence be sealed and destroyed. Without this relief, anyone applying for work or school where a background check is done will have their arrest record revealed.

A domestic violence lawyer often deals with two types of courts that overlap. Many criminal domestic violence cases have a long history that comes from the Family Court. Ex-husbands and wives may have domestic disputes that go back years. If a case becomes so serious that someone is charged with a domestic violence crime, the past records in Family Court can be used as evidence.

If you are being investigated for or charged with a count of domestic violence, it is important that you seek the advice of an experienced Stockton domestic violence lawyer as soon as you can. Our legal services are available in English and Spanish, so do not hesitate to contact us today.

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