Defending Domestic Violence Charges in Carroll County

Domestic violence is a serious offense with equally serious consequences. Aside from the impact, a domestic violence charge can have on a person’s personal and professional life, an individual could also spend time in prison as well. It is important to work with a qualified domestic violence lawyer when defending domestic violence charges in Carrol County because attorneys have an understanding of what pitfalls to avoid. The lawyer may also know which strategies to invoke, and what approaches need to be utilized to get that best result possible both from the very beginning to the very end of the whole process. If you have been charged with domestic violence, work with an attorney that could help you build a solid defense.

Evidence When Preparing a Defense

Typically, the key piece of evidence against the accused is the accuser. Specifically, the accuser’s testimony, photographs, videos, phone calls, emails, and texts, and so on. It all stems from the alleged victim. When defending domestic violence charges in Carrol County defense attorneys are tasked with doing what they can to undermine the witness’ credibility, to try to undermine the evidence, or offer alternative explanations.

Defense Strategies in Domestic Violence Cases

When defending domestic violence charges in Carrol County, the most common strategies are self-defense and mutual fray, where two people are engaged in a fight together. Often times, the person who filed the charges is not necessarily the victim. Instead, they may just be the person who lost the fight. Very frequently, attornies have to discern whether they are dealing with that situation. There are a lot of strategies involved to properly refute the charges that could be employed in.

Self-Defense

An individual is permitted to take a reasonable and necessary action to defend against the perceived threat. If someone is being pushed back in the corner, it is generally okay to push back or maybe even punch. It is not okay to pull out a gun and shoot them. It has got to be reasonable and there has to be no opportunity to leave. There is something called the Castle Doctrine, which is if an individual is in their own home, they should not have to leave even if they are threatened. If it is not safe for someone to leave and there is a perceived threat that is real and believable, they can take the reasonable action as necessary even if ultimately somebody gets hurt.

Defense of Others

An individual is committed to come to the aid of another if they reasonably believe that the person is in danger and needs help. Even if someone starts a fight but ends up losing the fight and gets hurt and then someone comes to the aid of the actual original attacker, the person who jumped in is not going to be held liable or accountable for any action there because of their reasonable belief based upon what they saw when they got involved, which was someone getting attacked. But again, the action must be reasonable and necessary based on the circumstances and must only be what is necessary to stop the threat and the harm.

Immediate and Long-Term Consequences of a Domestic Violence Conviction

If a person is convicted, automatically, they are going to have a criminal record, they are put on probation, have to pay fines, have to have certain requirements and restrictions on what they can do, what they cannot do, may be required to go to counseling, or may be required to do certain types of treatment. All of that could be immediately done upon a conviction.

In the long-term, a person could have a conviction or a criminal record for 20 or 30 years after the fact. Being convicted of a crime of violence can preclude people from a lot of things. Convicted people cannot own a firearm, even use or possess a firearm for the rest of their life. They could face issues when seeking housing, or looking for work.

Benefits of Working With a Carroll County Domestic Violence Lawyer

Defending domestic violence charges in Carrol County is hard to do without an experienced attorney by your side. Having relationships with prosecutors and judges is so critical to the progression of a case. Your lawyer could strategize and use their knowledge of what prosecutors think and what they recommend, in order to bring negotiations along. Knowing what judges are predisposed to do can also help them defend your. A competent attorney could try to work out the trial strategies or negotiate with prosecutors to try to get the best result possible.