A verbal dispute with a spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or a family member can quickly become heated. When that happens, allegations can fly that may lead to your arrest on criminal charges related to domestic violence. At that point, you have to be prepared to build a strong criminal defense. If you don’t, then you could be convicted, leaving you facing all the ramifications that accompany a finding of guilt, including incarceration, loss of employment and a haunting criminal record. Making matters worse is that these allegations can force you out of your home and even result in decreased time with your children.
With so much at stake, you have to be thorough when building your domestic violence criminal defense. But if you’re staring down charges right now, you might be confused about what you can do to protect yourself and your future. We hope that you’ll find the remainder of this post helpful in giving your direction.
Tips for building a domestic violence criminal defense
Although it might not seem like it in the moment, there are several criminal defense options you can utilize when facing criminal charges related to domestic violence. Here are some tips for building up those defenses:
- Gather witness accounts: You might hope that the jury in your case will take you at your word, but you can’t count on that, especially when the alleged victim may appear believable. Seek out other witnesses who saw what happened and can back up your assertions. Also, if you plan on arguing that you lacked intent to commit domestic violence or that the alleged victim was actually the aggressor, then you may need witness testimony to portray the historical context of your relationship with the alleged victim.
- Understand the law: You have the right to defend yourself, which makes self-defense a commonly argued point in domestic violence cases. However, there are limitations on when you can legally defend yourself and the amount of force that you can use. You need to understand the law here so that you can competently argue that you acted within the confines of the law.
- Find character evidence: Not all character evidence is admissible in a criminal trial. However, if your accuser is going to take the stand, then you need to be ready to attack their character for truthfulness. If you can show the jury that the alleged victim is a liar, then you’ll be in a strong position to obtain an acquittal.
- Engage in thorough discovery: Discovery is the process of obtaining information from the other side so that you know what to expect going into trial. Through depositions, you can pin down witness accounts, too, including that of the alleged victim, which may give you more areas of attack. Also, if the alleged victim doesn’t show up for a deposition despite being subpoenaed to do so, then you may be able to block them from testifying against you at trial. This could lead prosecutors to drop the case against you.
Aggressively fight to protect your freedom and your future in your domestic violence case
The stakes are high in a domestic violence case. Although the case put forth by the prosecution might feel overwhelming at first, take comfort knowing that once you dig deeper into the facts and the evidence, you may find holes in their case. That’s why it’s imperative that you know how to craft a compelling criminal defense that puts you in the strongest position possible to obtain the outcome that you want. So, if you’re ready to get to work building your domestic violence criminal defense, then please continue seeking out answers and guidance that you may need.