Domestic Violence Injunctions

Domestic Battery and Domestic Violence Injunctions

Domestic violence is defined as any assault or battery (felony or misdemeanor), stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member. A family or household member includes spouses, former spouses, person related by blood or marriage, persons who reside together or have resided together, and persons who are parents of a child in common. Sec. 741.28, Fla. Stat. Although there is no separate crime of domestic battery, Florida law treats a domestic battery more seriously than a battery between two strangers. The biggest difference is that if you plead guilty or no contest (even if the court withholds adjudication) to a domestic battery charge, the court must put you on probation for one year and you must complete a batterers’ intervention program. Sec. 748.281, Fla. Stat. Florida’s certified batterers’ intervention program is at least 29 weeks long and includes 24 weekly sessions that you must pay for and complete.

Don’t Wait to Contact an Experienced Sarasota Domestic Battery Lawyer

Even if you have only been arrested and accused of domestic violence in Sarasota, you need to speak with an attorney. Just an allegation of domestic battery can seriously impact your life and ability to earn a living. First, you will be forced to deal with the negative consequences of the arrest because your name and booking photo will be available to the public. Then you will be ordered not to return to your home, even if you are not married and the alleged victim was only a guest. You will also be ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim, even if that person did not want to have you arrested in the first place. An experienced criminal defense attorney in Sarasota may be able to speak with the alleged victim and determine whether that person wants to have the charges dropped. If so, your criminal defense lawyer will try to convince the state to drop the charges, to set aside the no contact order so you can return to your home and get your life back to normal. If the state refuses to drop charges, a Sarasota battery lawyer may be able to convince the state to resolve your case through a diversion program so that the charge will be dismissed and your record will remain clean. Ultimately, however, you also need a domestic violence attorney who is prepared to go to trial and fight for a not guilty verdict. Anthony G. Ryan is a Florida Bar, board certified criminal trial law attorney who has over twenty years of experience fighting for his client’s rights.

A Sarasota Domestic Violence Injunction Lawyer Will Protect Your Rights

Domestic Violence Injunctions often go hand in hand with an allegation of domestic violence. A domestic violence injunction can result in you losing your home, not being able to visit your children and being ordered to take anger management classes or the certified batterers’ intervention program – even if the underlying charges are ultimately dropped. If a permanent injunction is ordered, you effectively lose your Second Amendment right to bear arms. If you are married and have children, you may be ordered to immediately pay support.

A domestic violence injunction can also negatively impact a pending criminal case, because everything you say to defend yourself can be used against you by the State. If you have been served with a temporary domestic violence injunction, get legal advice immediately to protect your rights. Especially if you have also been arrested for domestic battery. Do not try to represent yourself in a Sarasota domestic violence injunction hearing. Hire an experienced Sarasota attorney to come up with a defense and prevent the potential and long lasting consequences. A Sarasota domestic violence lawyer may be able to work out a compromise with the alleged victim by getting the judge to enter an order that will automatically terminate after a specified time period. Agreeing to a temporary injunction may be the best possible result, especially if you are also facing criminal charges. If all else fails, you also need a domestic violence injunction lawyer who will be able to present your side of the story to a judge and poke holes in the alleged victim’s version of events. You really only get one chance to fight a domestic violence injunction. Call Sarasota defense attorney Anthony G. Ryan today.