Domestic Violence Legal Questions

Dear Ms. Lockhart:   I am sorry you are faced with this issue.  However, if your boyfriend is physically abusing you, go immediately to your county courthouse and ask to get a domestic violence injunction.   The court clerk will help you with the papers, and in them you need to spell out concisely the specific acts of physical abuse, starting wtih the most recent in time and going backwards in time.    The Court will review your statements and if the judge feels that there  has been domestic violence, s/he will issue a temporary injunction at that time.  It will be served on your boyfriend and he will have to leave the house (escorted by police officers) at the moment of service.  The court will also set a hearing within 15 days, when you will have to go to court, and your boyfriend will also  have to appear.  If the Court keeps  the injunction in place, your "boyfriend" will have to remain out of the house.  If you do not get an injunction, you will have to file either an action for ejectment or, if he is paying rent, an action for eviction.  Your county clerk may be able to provide you with forms to assist in doing this, or you can research it yourself.  However, if you have to resort to a civil action for ejectment/eviction you should probably enlist the help of an attorney who handles these types of cases. Good luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Boca Raton 954-316-3496/561-962-2785 info@vovalaw.com ... Read More

Although you posted as anonymous, I think any lawyer's first advice will be to stop confessing to crimes on the Internet. Making a false police report is a crime, and so yes, you could go to jail for it.   having said that, my opinion, which perhaps is worth what you paid for it, is that any person you tell the story is going to think you told the truth at first, and you are now lying to protect your abuser.    ultimately, it is the state versus the defendant, it's not your case and so you cannot drop it. On a practical level, prosecuting a case where the victim changes their story to help the abuser is very difficult. You will almost definitely be threatened with arrest and prosecution if you tried to change your story, but in my personal experience police and prosecutors very rarely follow through with that threat. As I said, they will believe that you were abused, and they will not really want to lock up a victim.... Read More

Domestic violence enhanced charges often are "he said, she said" meaning only the two people involved typically were present.  So often the police and prosecutors have to decide which version to believe and proceed with that.  So maybe you should be worried, but without more facts it is hard to say - how long ago was it, what police agency would be involved, etc.... Read More

Will need a little more information to provide you with a specific answer. How is the relative related to the minor child? Is it the grandparent on the mother's side? When did the violence occur? What happened? Were the police called? Generally, documented acts of violence or reoccuring violent tendencies may be grounds for a court to deny visitation. But in some cases, depending on the facts, the Courts have granted limited visitation under supervision. ... Read More

Louisiana is a one-party consent state to recording conversations. This means that in Louisiana, you are legally allowed to record a conversation if you are a contributor to the recording. There is not even a necessity that you make a statement asking for their consent to record. All that is required is that you are a party to the recording and can be heard on the tape. Recordings of conversations that you are a part of are also admissible as evidence in civil and criminal proceedings so long as the recording meets certain criteria: (1) That the recording device was capable of taking the conversation now offered in evidence; (2) That the operator of the device was competent to operate the device; (3) That the recording is authentic and correct; (4) That changes, additions or deletions have not been made in the recording; (5) That the recording had been preserved in a manner that is shown to the court; (6) That the speakers are identified; and (7) That the conversation elicited was made voluntarily and in good faith, without any kind of inducement. Though I do not know the specifics of the restraining order you have in place, threats made to a protected party are a violation of the protective order and in most Louisiana courts it is common for the order to state that the retrained party be prohibited from making harassing phone calls. Recordings of those threats can very likely result in the Court finding that they are in violation of the restraining order.... Read More

To be charged with failure to appear, the State would need to show you were served. I'm not advising you to leave town while subject to an outstanding subpoena, but if you do, an attorney in your new town would be able to contact the prosecutor and most likely resolve the issue. I can only speak for myself, but I've had more than a couple prosecutors threaten to charge a DV victim who didn't come to court. I've never had one actually do it.... Read More

I don't know what evidence exists for the police report saying the alleged victim was hit multiple times in the head. I will say in any criminal case, the State has to prove their case. That sounds obvious, but if in fact there is no evidence to support the State's case, and there is evidence to support the defense alleged, it's possible to convince a jury.   That's a general answer. An experienced trial lawyer will have heard a jury say 'not guilty' enough times to tell you it is possible. The same truth is that juries often believe the version of police over the version of 'regular' people. A lot goes into trying a case, with dozens if not hundreds of facts and little pieces of evidence. The DA tries to build their puzzle out of the pieces, the defense tries to build theirs.   It sounds like the Court already heard a Motion to Dismiss an Order of Protection (which is completely separate from any criminal charge), and denied it. If that's correct, a new Motion would have to list new grounds. It's easy to confuse, but DA's don't represent alleged victims, so they don't have to do what 'victims' want. Every DA I've personally dealt with will tell you they have a 'no drop' policy on Domestic Violence. I will tell you that's not exactly true, but you often have to either force them to do it, or give them a legal 'out.' If a DA believes a victim told the truth initially, and is lying to get charges dismissed, they are not required to take the updated or new story. It may be hard for them to win a trial without a cooperative victim, but on the other hand lots of times along the way they can pick up a victim tampering charge. In other words, Domestic Violence goes away but client goes to jail for talking with the victim. Third party contact counts too, so someone's mama or whomever speaking to the victim 'for the defendant' can be a great way for defendant to pick up more charges.... Read More

Criminal cases normally must be prosecuted in the State and County where the incident occured. I understand it occured in California, so I do not see a way to prosecute him criminally in Colorado. Also, criminal charges have to be brought within a certain time period after the criminal event.  I do not know the time limits under California law but in Colorado for most Misdemenaors the criminal charge has to be filed within 18 months of the event and for most felony charges it is within 3 years of the event.  As far as suing him in civil court to try to recover dollar damages, unless he committed some act invovled in this incident in Colorado, or if he lives in Colorado, or if he visited Colorado frequenetly (had some connection with Colorao), it is not likely a civil case could be brought in Colorado.  ... Read More

Thank you for your question. I understand how worried you must be about your children. The short answer is that an emergency Motion may be required to prevent her from leaving the State with your daughter.  I understand that you need answers and need to protect yourself and your daughter. I strongly suggest that you schedule a consultation with a family law attorney who has experience addressing child custody matters as soon as possible, so that you can understand the implications for you and your daughter in the event she tries to leave the State. ... Read More

These are serious offenses- I suggest a consultation - in person - with a lawyer.  But aside from that - do plead not guilty and see what you can get for a plea bargain - but you will definitely have to do domestic violence counseling if you accept a plea bargain to ANYTHING in this case. Consult a lawyer - please......... Read More

You are confusing a protective order with criminal charges. The two are very different. Your protective order is there for a reason. Without seeing the order, and your claims, no one can advise you about changing things. You really should consult with an experienced family law attorney before the hearing, as, if appropriate, you might be able to change some of the claims and resulting order. As to the criminal charges, those are controlled by the district attorney, and you cannot influence them. If that office decides to file charges, it is their case and not within your ability to control. With the protective order, it is possible to attempt to work things out with your partner, through mediation. Again, you need to get with an experienced family law attorney to ensure the wording of the order is correct. Then, if you work out all of the problems, you can dismiss the protective order at a later date. You need to get with an aggressive family law attorney who has experience with protective orders, mediation 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. If you want to set an appointment for the initial consultation, feel free to telephone my office.

David R. Hartwig 

801-486-1715... Read More

I suppose if the police have a basis to beleive there is some emergency/ threat to someone they may be able to search without consent, or if they beleive the person with a warrant is in the home.  It is an interesting issue and worth exploring by talking directly with a lawyer you hire. ... Read More

Dear Ms. Riner:       You are aways in better hands when you have legal counsel, but that does not mean you cannot do this yourself.  I have given you links below to two statutes that deal with domestic violence/stalking that may assist you.  You can look at the definition of stalking and use that to assist you.   http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0741/Sections/0741.28.html http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.048.html   Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova Broward/Boca Raton 954-316-3496/561-962-2785... Read More

Difficult situation but if she did go to the grandkids, and you have voice mails or texts where she explains she is doing that because you got a protection order etc. - it seems that any case against you would not go very far - probably.  The threats and stalking are certainly a crime and you can report it to the police. A protection order (really just a piece of paper telling her not to contact you) sounds like it might be useless against this person......although it would make it easier for her to be charged with a crime.   You have a difficult decision to make.... Read More