Navigating Domestic Violence Charges: Your Legal Options Explained

Domestic violence charges can have serious legal consequences, and it is crucial to understand your options if you are facing them. This article is an overview of what is generally available to someone dealing with a domestic violence charge in California.

The first step is to get legal representation. Dolan Law Offices handles domestic violence cases throughout the Coachella Valley, and John Patrick Dolan is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Criminal Law.

Understand what is actually at stake

Depending on the circumstances, consequences can include fines, probation, a protective order, mandatory batterer’s intervention programs, restrictions on firearm possession, immigration consequences, and custody consequences in a family law case running alongside the criminal one. A defense attorney can explain which of these apply to your situation.

If a protective order has been served

A protective order is not a suggestion. If one has been served on you, contact with the protected person can be a separate crime even if that person initiates it, and even if the contact is about children or belongings. Speak to an attorney before you respond to anything.

Negotiation

In some cases it is possible to negotiate with the prosecution toward a reduced charge or a resolution that avoids trial. Whether that is available in a given case depends on the facts and the record, and nothing about it can be promised in advance.

If you have been falsely accused

If you believe you have been falsely accused, that defense is built the same way any other is: with evidence, with witnesses, and by holding the prosecution to its burden. Accusations in these cases sometimes arise out of a divorce, a custody dispute, or a night that both people remember differently, and those circumstances matter.

Navigating a domestic violence charge is a complex process. Getting representation early is how you make sure your rights are protected while it runs.

If you are facing domestic violence charges, contact Dolan Law Offices for a free consultation.

This article is general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts. No result is promised or implied, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

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