DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence is any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another who is or was residing in the same single dwelling unit.

Types of domestic violence

An assault does not have to be physical violence. An assault can occur if someone intentionally threatens to cause you physical violence, even if they do not touch you.

Consequences of the Domestic Violence Charge in Florida

If you were charged with any form of domestic violence, then you need an experienced attorney for the following reasons:

• Under Florida law, you are not able to immediately bond out of jail after an arrest for domestic violence because no bond will be set until after you see the judge at first appearance.
• If you do not have an attorney representing you at your first court appearance within 24 hours after your arrest, the court will usually impose a “no contact” provision that will prevent you from returning to your home, seeing you children, or communicating with your spouse until a motion to modify this condition of your bond is granted after a court hearing.
• The charge itself is classified as a “crime of violence” and the mere allegation is extremely serious. Consider the fact that a conviction for any domestic violence offense will cause a lifetime ban of your right to possess a firearm under state and federal law.
• Most importantly, employers may be extremely hesitant to hire or promote anyone who has a domestic violence conviction on a criminal record.
• Even if you enter a plea of “no contest” and receive a “withhold of adjudication” on misdemeanor or felony charges, you will never be able to seal your criminal record for any domestic violence charge. This means that any employer will be able to view your mug shot on the law enforcement website and read embarrassing details about your arrest and prosecution on the clerk of court website. Additionally, private data mining companies like arrests.com or mugshots.com will build pages about you on the internet that display the mug shot and facts about the arrest.
• The arrest and prosecution can be used against you in a divorce, family law, or child custody hearing.

Penalties

• In Florida, the penalties for a domestic violence charge can include:
• incarceration (jail time or prison time) or a lengthy probation sentence;
• completion of a Batterers Intervention Program (26-29 week course);
• completion of community service hours;
• “no contact” or “no violent contact” with the victim in the case – a violation of this condition can cause an arrest without bond for violation of probation and a separate charge of Felony Aggravated Stalking.