When is domestic violence a felony

Is it possible that the injury was caused by an accident, rather than by an intentional act? Of course. In fact, it is common for alleged victims to believe someone acted intentionally when they are angry and emotional. Later, after they have calmed down, they reflect upon what happened and they recognize they were not being fair to the accused and want to make it clear they do not believe this was an intentional act.

This is known as exculpatory evidence and this information must be conveyed to your criminal defense attorney to provide you the best opportunity to have your domestic violence assault case dismissed. If your criminal defense attorney determines these criminal defenses are available to you through the statements of the alleged victim, it is critical that this information is gathered using an affidavit of non-prosecution.

Most criminal district attorneys have a zero tolerance no drop policy when it comes to domestic violence assault cases. As a result, many people have the misconception that affidavits of non-prosecution are useless when it comes to your criminal defense.

This is not the case when the alleged victim has information that shows a crime may not have occurred. Remember, the prosecutor always has the burden to prove the elements of domestic violence assault. If the alleged victim can provide evidence through an affidavit, your criminal attorney may be able to use this to establish reasonable doubt, which provides your more leverage to negotiate a favorable result on your case. Does the statement of the alleged victim make sense? Did the alleged victim have a motive or reason to lie?

Is there a child custody battle or divorce going on? Is the alleged victim seeking immigration status based upon being a victim? These are all critical issues to examine when defending your domestic violence assault case. If you are facing a domestic violence assault case in Fort Worth, Texas or one of the surrounding cities in Tarrant County or North Texas, we would be happy to provide you a free consultation to analyze your situation and see if we can be of assistance.

The Fulgham Law Firm is a team of former prosecutors with over 80 years of criminal law experience and have handled hundreds of domestic violence assault cases.

Call now for a free consultation! Brandon Fulgham has an in-depth understanding of both Texas law and Texans themselves. Now, he uses that knowledge to protect the rights of people in and around Fort Worth, making sure they receive the strongest possible defense when they find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Fort Worth, Texas Hit enter to search or ESC to close. No Comments. Domestic Violence Defined and Punishment Texas recognizes four different crimes of domestic violence : domestic assault, aggravated domestic assault, domestic assault impeding breath and continuous violence against the family. Possible Defenses To Domestic Violence Crimes If you have been accused of a domestic violence assault, you need to become educated on the criminal defense available to you under the law.

When a prosecutor charges a felony to gain an advantage in negotiating, the strategy may backfire. If the evidence in support of the felony is weak, an accused may want to ask a jury to return a not guilty verdict rather than making a plea bargain. When the prosecutor charges a misdemeanor, the accused is in a better position to seek an outcome that will not result in a conviction.

A first offender who is willing to participate in anger management counseling might be able to avoid a conviction if the crime is not serious.

Choosing the right strategy requires a combination of experience, skill, and knowledge of the law. Our lawyers can recommend a strategy that is best suited to the facts of your case. Contact us at today to receive a free consultation from compassionate, experienced legal professionals. Randy Collins. I have had many contacts throughout my lifetime, and I have never run into such a I refer all of my friends that get in trouble and he has gotten all of their cases either dismissed or reduced significantly.

I got my girlfriend an attorney to help clear up a warrant she had as well as an outstanding case. The warrant was three years old and she skipped out on court.

Randy got case He knows the court system and can help you navigate through it. I believe he gives an honest assessment of the situation and will protect his clients. Which Violations are Felonies, and Which are Misdemeanors? Defense Strategies You May Want to Consider Whether a domestic violence offense is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony may or may not have an impact on the defense strategy.

How Our Defense Attorneys Can Help You Choosing the right strategy requires a combination of experience, skill, and knowledge of the law. First Name Please enter your first name. Last Name Please enter your last name. Phone Please enter your phone number. There are just too many broad answers. It would depend upon the severity of the case. Were there injuries involved? Which is a special type of probation that if you finish without incident, then the case is eventually dismissed, and you do not become convicted.

An affirmative finding of violence does several things. Another one that we run into a lot is that it will affect your gun rights for five years. This is oftentimes a problem we have with men in particular, because they want to be able to hunt every season.

Since all these questions were asked in the domestic violence context, family violence involving choking, yes, is a felony. However, if two guys get in a fight in the parking lot of a bar, and one of them chokes the other, that may not be a felony. So since all these questions involve domestic violence, choking someone in your family is indeed a felony.

Yes, they can be dismissed. It happens all the time. Sometimes we will present to the state a particular set of circumstances that would warrant dismissal. For instance, a man and woman have been married for a long time. Alcohol is involved, an argument occurs, and some sort of violence takes place.

Sometimes in situations like that, we can convince the state to let our client take a domestic violence class, and then dismiss the charges. That is not uncommon. It is exactly what it sounds like. It is repeated acts of assault on a family member within a certain time period, and that makes it a felony.

They can cumulate those charges and make it one felony. Even though, each offense would be charged as a misdemeanor. There has been the occasional case where we thought that family violence did not meet the circumstances, but the vast majority of times they do. Sure they can. They can be dismissed. Now, if the question is, after a conviction, does it go away?

The answer is no. So if you go to trial and the jury finds you guilty, that will be on your record, just like any other crime, for life. I cannot give you a pattern as to how they end.