THE KENT LAW FIRM

THE KENT LAW FIRM
Orange County's Premier Criminal Defense Boutique

Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Criminal Lawyer Discusses Domestic Charges

Criminal Lawyer
As a criminal lawyer, we represent clients that have been charged with all types of crimes.  Many of our clients come to us after being accused of some form of violence.  For example, those that get into a fight are likely to be charged with assault.  Our job is to protect our clients' rights so whether someone is charged with assaulting a stranger or someone they know, we can help by mounting a strong defense, demonstrating that the allegations are false or greatly exaggerated.

When charges of violence involve a current or ex-partner, the case becomes about domestic violence. Many people are surprised to know that if they get into a fight with an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend, in a public place, it can still be domestic violence.  We can always argue that it isn’t, but the prosecutor can certainly bring charges anyway.  Due to how wide sweeping domestic violence is, many people are caught off guard when they are charged with it, thinking that they didn’t particularly do anything wrong. 

If you are charged with domestic violence, don’t go it alone but instead hire a criminal lawyer.  This way we can ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive a fair trial in court.  There are several reasons why someone may file domestic violence charges and we need to know every detail about the supposed incident so that we can better understand the case.  We need to prove innocence with evidence, rather than emotion, and you never know which detail will be what we need in order to do so.  With that in mind, we always encourage full disclosure.  As your attorney, anything you say is privileged so we can’t testify against you, meaning you can speak openly and without fear. 

Very often in these cases, our clients have gotten into a fight with their current or ex-partner but have no idea that the fight could be viewed as domestic violence.  This regularly happens when two people start yelling at each other, and the situation escalates.  One person may begin to feel afraid while the other believes that it is simply a standard fight.  With emotions high, anything that is done from that point on may be perceived as violent even if it was not intended to be.  When there is no history of domestic violence, we can argue that this was a simple fight and not a violent episode. 

There are also times when an incident didn’t happen at all.  In many criminal cases, false allegations are made for the benefit of the person making them.  As a criminal lawyer, our job is to gather and present evidence as to how the incident could not have happened.  An alibi can help us to do so along with looking for inconsistencies in the police report or the other party’s testimony. When the allegations are false, there will be flaws in the story, and we will seek to find them.  The more information you can share with us, the easier it will be to identify what is false and how to argue against the charges, in general. 

If you have been charged with any type of crime, we can help.  Give us a call to ensure that your rights are protected.