Domestic Violence Legal Questions

Generally speaking, to qualify for restoration of your gun rights, you must meet certain baseline criteria: You have no other pending criminal charges in Washington or any other state. You have never been convicted of a Class A Felony or a sex offense, or been found not guilty by reason of insanity. If restoring following a felony conviction: it has been at least five years since you were convicted of a criminal charge. If restoring following a misdemeanor Domestic Violence conviction: it has been at least three years since you were convicted of a criminal charge, and you have completed all conditions of your sentence. You do not have any prior felony convictions prohibiting you from possessing a firearm. You have never been convicted of a felony charge where the use of a firearm was involved. Only a court can restore your right to possess a firearm. Thus, the application should not be filed with the police department, but rather with a judge. Once the application has been filed, the court and the prosecutor will review your application. Additionally, a hearing may need be scheduled to facilitate this process. Every case is different, presenting unique facts and circumstances. So it is best to consult with an attorney who can review your case. If you would like to do this on your own, then you would need to file a motion and citation with the court, and serve the prosecutor's office with a copy of your filed documents.     ... Read More

Its very hard to answer this sort of question because most a swers are county specific.  Talk to a local attorney and they can tell you how the police and prosecutors usually handle these types of cases.  In many if the counties I operate with some counselling and usually Community Service we can get the charges reduced.  Some counties require a more structured domestivmc violence program.  ... Read More

You should absolutely seek legal advice.  While contacting him could be harassment, suing him is not.  It is unlikely that there is something going on in the background.  The police try hard not to charge people with stuff like this.  So in all likelihood he was just trying to warn you so he didnt have to charge.  If he does charge, get an attorney, you have some pretty good defenses.  ... Read More

If you want to dismiss the current domestic violence complaint against your former boyfreind, you can do so by contacting the domestic violence intake office in the county where the complaint is returnable ( on the complaint form, it will tell you where and when the complaint is returnable) and tell them that you want to appear before the court to dismiss it. The intake office will then schedule a time for you to meet with a crisis counselor who will review with you the "cycles of abuse" to ensure that you understand how and what is abuse and to ensure that you know that there are resources availlble to you for counselling purposes ( if you want) and to make sure that the decision to dismiss the complaint is a voluntary action instead of an action driven by fear ( of reprisal, cut off of support, etc). You will then sign forms acknowledging your understanding of your rights and then you will appear before a superior court judge who will also ask you a series of questions to confirm for the record that your decision to dismiss the complaint is a voluntary action and to ensure that you know that if it ever happens again, you can file a new complaint and the decision to dismiss this complaint cannot be held against you. Good luck and my suggestion is that you and your boyfreind consider availing yourselves of parenting counseling services available so that each of you will know how to back off when a particular conversation gets heated.... so that it does not become confrontational again. ... Read More

Yes.  It is very rare that a District Attorney would do this.  But they can have a warrant issued for a material witness (which you are).  Judge hate doing this because they dont want to lock up a victim.  But if the Defendant represents a serious enough threat to you or the community they will.  ... Read More

You do not have the power to drop the charges - only the prosecutor does.  They will ask for your opinion as the case goes along, but you do not get to dictate the outcome.  You can choose to cooperate with the prosecutor or not cooperate - it is your choice. If you do not cooperate they can force you into court by subpoeaning you to hearings or a trial.  If you do not show up after being subpoeaned, then YOU can be arrested. You can talk with your husbands attorney, or hire your own attorney to help with the process. ... Read More

You likely have a warrant out for your arrest for 'failing to appear' at your court date.  You should contact your public defender and find out how to get the case back on track - i.e. to turn yourself in or some courts allow people to be 'added on' to the docket to get rid of warrants, by showing up on certain days.  It does not make sense to try to live with a warrant hanging over you as you could be arrested at any time, disrupting your life completely. Get the case back on track - face the issues and get it over with, is my thought.... Read More

Unfortunately yours is a criminal law question (this is a family law list), the answer to which will vary a great deal by jurisdiction (city of LV, or NLV, or County, or district court).  Youi need to ask your question of a criminal law attorney, specifying the jurisdiction that ordered the community service in the first place.... Read More

Thank you for your question. If you have a temporary or final restraining order in place, read the order over to see if it provides instructions on how to retrieve personal belongings. Most do have some language about how to go about this. For example, the order might state that you should contact your local police department to coordinate retrieval of your belongings. If there are items in dispute, legal options include negotiating ownership (through lawyers if you have a no contact order) or you could go to small claims court to prove ownership, depending on your situation. If you are married and getting a divorce, you would go through asset division to settle your issues. It would be helpful for you to collect documentation (receipts, etc.) that shows ownership. For more specific feedback, I encourage you to schedule a free consultation with an attorney. ... Read More

It sounds like you were on a deferred sentence. If so, the prosecutor has 35 days after the end of the deferred sentence to investigate and see if there were any violations of the deferred conditions within the deferred time period.  The paperwork you signed to accept the deferred sentence will explain this. So take the end of the deferred date (January 18) add 35 days and after that if the DA has not filed a motion to withdraw the plea and dismiss the charges, contact the court clerk to see if they have a procedure for the dismissal to occur administratively. (The probation officer just notifies the prosecutor whether he thought there were any violations - it is up to the prosecutor to file the motion to dismiss - so continuing to contact your probation officer will get you no where).... Read More

The answer to this depends on the Court the case is in. Some court's require the filing of an affidavit at the end of the case, some require the person to appear, some just allow a person to appear if they want. I suggest calling the court clerk for the court the case is in and asking them.... Read More

My first impression is that you really need a divorce and to address the underlying cause of all the issues, the abuse. You also have the option to sue for damages related to the abuse. But, from my point of view, you need to stop the abuse and the only way to do that is to remove yourself from the problem by way of perhaps a protective order and then divorce. How do you find an attorney? You do your homework on the issues. I've practiced in those areas for over 30 years. You need to prepare to vigorously assert your  claims and concerns to do what truly is in youe best interests. You need an attorney who helps you prepare a plan. You need to get with an aggressive family law attorney who has experience with divorce, abuse, and difficult cases. I know what these cases are like, having handled a number. Your situation involves major factual and procedural issues. These are issues that we can discuss. If you are interested in pursuing the matter further, I offer an initial 1/4 hour consultation without charge, and a 1/2 hour consultation for $50. I f you want to set an appointment for the initial consultation, feel free to telephone my office Tuedsay morning (today is a holiday and the office is closed). Don't wait any longer, give a call and let's getting working to protect your interests.

 David R. Hartwig

 801-486-1715... Read More

Generally, the court order will have a geographical scope within it. For example, 500 feet. So yes, assuming there is a 500' no contact order, the DVI does restrict him from, among all areas where you may be, your workplace. The fact that he is harassing the contractors at your place of business could be interpreted as "indirect contact." If he does this again, immediately call the 911 and have a copy of the DVI for the police. Good luck!... Read More

I agree with the previous responding attorney. You can bond him out. You can tell the DA you don' t want him prosecuted, but that is not up to you. A domestic violence case is not you vs. him, it is the State of Tennessee vs him, and they can and will protect you even if you don't want it.   Now, at the practical level, if you are the State's only witness, and you are not cooperative, it may be they can never convict your husband, but you are a witness. As a victim, you are kind of a special type of witness under the law, but bottom law is you are a witness in the State's case.   I don't know if the criminal justice system is what you need, but heated arguments are not supposed to lead to busted lips. If that's how your relationship is, sooner or later he, you, or both are going to go to jail. You've alreay been to the hospital. As I said, maybe you don't need a prosecutor and a judge, but that has to change. The prosecutors have a job to protect citizens of Tennessee, you included. ... Read More