Domestic violence convictions obviously would mean that you would have a criminal record, if you’re convicted. You could potentially go to jail, potentially be placed on a period of supervised probation depending on a person’s prior record level, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid. We’re trying to avoid a criminal record. We’re trying to avoid jail time, trying to avoid a lengthy probation. In domestic violence cases in particular, the state takes a hard line on those.
There are special units in some of these D.A.’s office that are geared towards just prosecuting those cases, so they take them very seriously. The misconception some people have is that my wife or my husband changed his mind, and they don’t want to pursue the charges, so can we get it dismissed? It’s the State of North Carolina that’s brought the charges, and it’s a criminal offense. Typically, where there is signs of violence or when one person has admitted to hitting another person, when police arrive, they’re not there to mediate. A lot of people call police, and they think okay, people will mediate the situation. No, if they see that someone has been assaulted, or if there is any kind of physical injury, they will take a person to jail.
We do see family law cases intertwined with domestic violence cases. We work with a divorce lawyer, if there is one involved to try to come up with the best solution all the way around, so that in that particular matter it doesn’t only affect the criminal record of our client. It also affects their future, their livelihood, their support, the child support. There’s a host of factors when there’s a divorce or when there’s a divorce attorney involved. We make certain that we communicate with that attorney for the best possible outcome.
Watch the video here.
Learn more about Domestic Violence charges here.
Learn more about Assault on a Female charges here.