What Makes a Battery Arrest Domestic Violence?

According to criminal attorney William R Moore, an arrest for battery, misdemeanor or felony, will wind up in front of the domestic violence judge if there is a certain relationship between the accused and the alleged victim.

Click here to view State of Arrest episode explaining what makes a battery case domestic violence.

Battery is the unwanted striking of another person, which causes them harm. The level of harm, use of weapons or state of the victim (such as pregnant female) determines the severity (i.e. whether it is filed as a misdemeanor or felony). The relationship of the parties is what gives the state attorney’s office in any Florida jurisdiction the right to file the battery as a domestic violence case.

Family or Household Member

Individuals are considered a family member or household member if they are husband and wife, were previously husband-and-wife but now divorced, individuals related by blood or marriage, co-parents regardless of being married or divorced, individuals living together as a family and individuals who have lived together as a family in the past.

Additional Penalties and No-Contact Orders

In the case of a misdemeanor domestic violence battery, in addition to a mandatory sentence of 12 months in jail and $1000 fine, the court must impose a special condition that they convicted defendant complete 26 weeks of the appropriate batterers intervention program. This is what is often referred to as a minimum mandatory sentence. Minimum mandatory sentences are also seen in drug trafficking and the DUI cases.

Sealing or Expunging an Arrest for Domestic Violence

Common belief even among criminal defense attorneys is that domestic violence cases may never be sealed or expunged. This is incorrect with regard to domestic violence cases that wind up being dismissed. While it is true that a defendant who pleas either no contest or guilty to a domestic violence charge will never be able to seal his or her record, the dismissal of a defendant’s case, even for domestic violence, will allow him or her to have the case expunged if otherwise eligible.

More information on domestic violence charges in Florida may be obtained by calling attorney William R Moore at (954) 523-5333.

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