Defending Domestic Violence Charges in Howard County

Domestic violence charges in Howard County are taken very seriously. Building a defense is crucial and a skilled Howard County defense lawyer can help. Only an attorney who defends Howard County domestic violence cases frequently will know the predispositions of state prosecutors and judges. A local Howard County attorney will have relationships established with them to know what to expect, what pitfalls to avoid, how to best defend a case, and how to obtain an optimal result. Contact a lawyer today to help defend a domestic violence charge in Howard County.

Building a Defense

Depending on the nature of the allegations, the approach of building a Howard County domestic violence defense can change. If there is a defense that can be built, if the allegation is false, then the domestic violence attorney will fight, prepare, and gather whatever is needed in preparation to take it to trial.

If, however, the facts and circumstances are such that a trial is doubtful to be successful and not guilty would be problematic. A lawyer would take a different course of approach that is more of a mitigation or damage control-type of a scenario where a person gets counseling. If there is an addiction problem, maybe they will seek treatment, or do whatever needs to be done to rectify it. There may have been injuries or property damage, so those injuries will be taken care of, restitution will be paid, and the attorney will do whatever they can to address all the issues prior going to court.

Common Defenses Strategies

Defenses to Howard County domestic violence charges can vary depending on a case-by-case basis. Occasionally, it could be self-defense and frequently, there is an individual who does not start or engage in an altercation. Often times, it is the victim of an altercation who ends up getting the upper hand and the person who lost the altercation or lost a fight is the one that contacts law enforcement.

There is a case because it is animosity or anger amongst the parties. A person uses the courts or a criminal charge as a weapon of harassing against the other, so in defense, whether the incident happened or, even if it did happen, the victim tries to make it seem worse than it is.

In an example, a person could claim they were choked and lost consciousness. However, law enforcement found no injuries, swelling or bruising around the person’s neck. There are a lot of approaches that can be taken depending on the nature of the circumstance and allegation.

Defense of Another

Defending a loved one is rarely utilized approach in domestic violence cases. However, a person is allowed to use reasonable and necessary force to come to the aid of another even if their perceived assistance is a misinterpretation of what is happening.

For example, if an individual is walking by and sees a person getting attacked in some way, they can go and push the other person off of the other in order to come to the aid. Even if the person getting kicked or beaten was not the initial aggressor and the other person was acting in self-defense, it does not matter. However, if a person uses a deadly weapon or firearm to defend someone, that would be seen as dangerous to both parties.

Contact a Domestic Violence Lawyer

A Howard County domestic violence attorney will have relationships with prosecutors and judges, know their predispositions and know which strategies work. Having those relationships and insight is critical as not all prosecutors are equal and not all judges are equal. The relationship between an attorney could play a significant role in deciding how to best proceed and get the optimal result.

Contact a defense attorney right away to start building a strong defense to your domestic violence charges in Howard County.