Serving residents of Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Prince William County, Loudoun County, Stafford County, Spotsylvania County, Arlington County, Alexandria, City of Fredericksburg, City of Manassas Park, City of Manassas, City of Falls Church, Town of Vienna, Town of Herndon, Town of Occoquan, Town of Dumfries, and all of Virginia.
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Helping you fight back.
Whether you have been charged with a Criminal Offense, Serious Criminal Traffic Offense, or have been injured in an Accident that was not your fault, our First-Class Attorneys are not going to let you become a victim! With our experience, we will fight back, with you and for you, to get the results you deserve.
Virginia Domestic Assault Lawyers
If you have been charged with domestic assault or domestic violence, you might be afraid of what is to come. Our Virginia domestic assault lawyers want to help you navigate this process from the beginning to the end. If you are concerned about criminal charges against you, give us a call and set up a confidential consultation with us as soon as you can.
NovaLegalGroup, P.C. also helps residents of Virginia with Legal Matters in: Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Burke, Centreville, Fairfax, Mclean, Oakton, Reston and Springfield.
Understanding Domestic Violence and Assault
In Virginia, if you are charged with domestic violence, you are being charged with a type of assault and battery crime. It is litigated differently than a normal assault and battery crime because of the state code, which says that if you are guilty of assault and battery against someone in your family or in your household that it is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The biggest difference between domestic violence versus assault and battery is how the state would penalize you if you are a repeat offender. Someone who has a second or third charge of domestic violence would be charged with a Class 6 felony, which is given 20 years within the past conviction. If this is your second or third assault and battery charge, the classification of the crime does not become more severe. If you are looking for help managing your case, please give our Virginia domestic abuse lawyers a call to set up a confidential consultation with us.
Do You Need Legal Help?
The Arrest Procedures
According to state law, the police officers have a right to arrest you without any warrant when there is an accusation of domestic violence and they have probable cause that this crime is occurring. They also have the ability to arrest you if they believe that there is stalking involved or a violation of a protective order.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of allegations of abuse that happened in domestic violence cases. People accuse parents of abuse and spouses as well as roommates of violence and assault. If you are worried about the consequences that you might be facing for the particular category that your accusation falls under in Virginia law, please get in contact with our Virginia domestic assault lawyers today.
Special Considerations
When a defense attorney is handling a case with certain considerations, it will change how they prepare for court. An example of this might be if, along with domestic violence, someone is accused of sexual abuse against a spouse, which is considered rape in Virginia.
The prosecution will seek to convict you of rape if you have been accused of forcefully sexually abusing someone that you are in a household with, regardless of who that person is. This is not a different case; it will just be compounded on your charges.
You might face an emergency protection order against the accuser. These orders are given to help protect the family members from more alleged abuse. It can be either a verbal or a written protection order and we advise that you adhere to these rules religiously so as to not face more trouble than you’re already up against.
In a case where it is simply assault and battery, the victims can be allowed to tell the court when the penalties have been enforced or satisfactory. That would mean that the charges could be dismissed against you for your alleged crime; however, when domestic violence is involved, there is no allowance for that.
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Penalties You May Face
If you are a first offender for domestic abuse, the penalties that you’re facing can be up to a year in jail or a fine of $2500 or both. If you end up with a subsequent or third convection, this will be a Class 6 felony and the penalty is going to be up to five years in prison or a $2500 fine or both.
If you are convicted of domestic violence, you might be banned from possessing a firearm. This could hinder your ability to perform a profession in which you would need to carry a firearm such as law enforcement or military service.
If you’ve been charged with domestic violence or abuse, we encourage you to reach out to our Virginia domestic abuse lawyers as soon as you possibly can so you can get set up with your confidential, first consultation with us and get the answers to the questions that are weighing heavily on your mind right now.
The Help You Need
We understand how emotionally triggered you could be after such a personal accusation against you as domestic violence and abuse. Our Virginia domestic assault lawyers are here to give you all of the information that you need when you are facing these charges. We have plenty of experience handling these types of cases and we know how to prepare the proper legal strategy that you will need to minimize the harm that this charge can cause you in the future.
We provide our clients with the service that they need to navigate this case as smoothly as possible. It starts with a first, confidential consultation. We also offer an entire assessment of your case, including an investigation of the case and the evidence, creating a strategy for our defense and preparing you for your court dates and guiding you through all of the preliminary issues that will arise in the process.
If you are interested in getting the representation that will allow you to feel fully prepared and supported through this entire legal process, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our office right away to set up a consultation and get started.
Understanding Domestic Violence and Assault
Charges of domestic violence and abuse cover a lot of ground. You can be charged with domestic violence if you threatened to cause bodily harm to someone, sexually assaulted someone, stalked them, or kept them in unlawful detention.
Because it’s domestic violence and abuse, the accusations will have been made by someone from your household or your family.
According to Virginia law, these are those categories in which, if they accuse you of violence against them, it would be considered domestic:
- Any spouse or ex-spouse, even if they don’t live with you anymore
- Siblings or half-siblings
- Parents or stepparents
- Children or stepchildren
- In-law family members
- Grandchildren
- Grandparents
- Children of your roommate or spouse or person you are living with
- Anyone who has been living in your residence within the last year
If you were to be convicted of assault or battery or stalking someone within these protective categories, you could be facing up to a year in jail as well as fines of up to $2500. If you are a repeat offender, you are likely going to face 1 to 5 years of prison, which will be decided by a judge and jury as well as 12 months in jail and a $2500 fine if you are convicted. This will also likely result in you having a protection order against your family member.
Protective Orders
If someone has accused you of domestic assault, then they can serve you with a protection order that will restrict you from being able to get in contact with them or members of their family. For example, if your spouse accused you of domestic violence they can request a protection order that requires that you stay away from them as well as any kids that you share together. We want you to remain calm during these moments and adhere to the protection order as to not get yourself into more trouble. We want to help you be able to see your children again by removing this protection order if it is at all possible.
Call Our Virginia Domestic Assault Lawyers
Before you go into court, we want you to understand what you are up against. Our Virginia domestic assault lawyers can help you during a consultation where you get to go over your case, as well as the potential outcomes. We can help you create a strong defense for your circumstances and get you set up with the representation that you need right now. Give our office a call today and set up your consultation right away.
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