Howard County Domestic Violence Civil and Criminal Actions
A criminal action is a violation of the criminal code. Someone is entitled to a public defender if they cannot afford private counsel but they must request it. They have certain rights and the burden of proof is that they have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt every element of every charge against the person. That includes second-degree assault, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and things of that variety.
In a civil action, a person is not entitled to a public defender and the burden of proof is a lot lower, meaning they do not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the allegations. Someone can be found not guilty in a criminal case but still have problems in the civil arena because they have to meet a much lower threshold of persuading a judge what happened. Those include protective orders, peace orders, and things like that. If you find yourself involved in Howard County domestic violence civil and criminal actions, seek the counsel of a qualified lawyer.
Accuser’s Demands
A common thing to ask for is no contact because they want to be left alone. In which case, a violation of it would be a criminal charge even though a protective order is civil in nature.The accuser can also ask for use of a marital home or a home people share. They can award temporary custody of children.
They can award spouse support, a monetary support award, or child support. They can even order the ownership and possession of pets. They can order a mental health evaluation and certain counseling treatment if it is appropriate. These are all things that a protective order can compel somebody to do. Also, if someone owns a firearm, they have to relinquish their firearm for the duration of this protective order.
In a criminal action, the accuser does not ask for anything; all they are doing is reporting that a crime happened which means they are a witness for the state. In a criminal case, the person or injured party can ask for no contact and if they lost money out of pocket, they could receive restitution. Restitution is not a monetary award as a windfall without pain and suffering. That is all civil. If somebody has out-of-pocket losses such as $300 in medical bills to pay for, the defendant wants to pay back that money. Restitution is meant to compensate the accuser for what they may have lost.
Maintaining Contact
In Howard County domestic violence civil and criminal actions, it is important for the accused to limit contact with an accuser because of the possibility of undue influence or persuasion being used. This undue influence could result in the accuser dropping the charges when they do not want to or, do want to proceed.
Civilly speaking, courts and prosecutors do not find out that the no contact order has been violated unless someone reports it, meaning the person who has ben contacted. But oftentimes, the person initiates that contact themselves with the defendant and so it starts out.
There have been situations where two people who have no contact are living together and no one finds out about it. The danger is that things could turn for the worst and the accuser reports it, which poses a potential risk going forward.
Contacting an Attorney
When dealing with Howard County domestic violence civil and criminal actions, a skilled defense lawyer can help. Whether you face civil or criminal actions, get in touch with an attorney that you know will advocate for you.