The spike in domestic violence coinciding with the surge in COVID-19 cases across the United States of America is what some researchers are dubbing “a pandemic within the pandemic.” Between workers being laid off, furloughed, or permanently forced to work from home, allegations of domestic violence have skyrocketed alongside divorce rates. Given that false allegations of domestic violence already occur at high frequencies in divorce proceedings, it’s only logical that they would increase during a period of exacerbated financial stress.
That being said, a false allegation of domestic violation is devastating and can easily lead to harsh penalties, such as hefty fines, jail time, and consequences far beyond the courtroom. A conviction will often impact your future career prospects, reputation, and current employment, just to name a few. This is exactly why if you feel that you have been wrongfully accused of domestic violence that it’s so important to contact a criminal defense attorney in Tampa with The Rickman Law Firm who can represent you against the false accusations and fight for your freedom, your rights, and your reputation.
Whether you’ve been arrested for domestic violence, are being investigated for domestic violence, or have been charged with a domestic violence offense, your best option to clear your name and protect your rights is to contact one of the experienced criminal defense attorneys in Tampa. We’ll immediately begin work on investigating your case, examining all available evidence, conducting interviews with the victim or witnesses where available, and crafting a strong defense to have your charges dismissed or dropped. Here are several categories your defense attorney will explore in getting the prosecutor to drop your domestic violence case.
The prosecutor’s decision to dismiss or drop a criminal charge is dependent upon the evidence. The prosecutor will only dismiss a case when they feel that the case cannot be proven; however, it is up to the criminal defense attorney to compile the relevant evidence and cast doubt upon the case in the eyes of the prosecutor.
Successfully prosecuting a defendant means they must prove each element of the criminal offense by a standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. This means your case must meet certain elements in order to be classified as domestic violence. For example, the victim may have suffered a traumatic injury; however you may not be held responsible for the injury if there was no evidence of willfulness to commit the act or the injury was not a natural and probable consequence of the action you took. The victim also may have exacerbated his or her injuries for the sake of the case. If a physician testifies that the injuries were not serious or the victim was over-exaggerating the symptoms or extent of the injury, you may have a case to have your charges reduced.
In the examination of your case, a criminal defense attorney in Tampa will use the preliminary hearing with the victim to their advantage to look for any inconsistencies between what the victim is currently saying to what was reported in a written statement or what a police officer previously testified to. Inconsistencies can be found in a number of areas, including not limited to
For example, if the victim claimed to have fought with the defendant several hours before the police were called but he or she has fresh bruises or other apparent injuries, a defense attorney will use this inconsistency to demonstrate the victim is not telling the truth. Prosecutors are extremely unlikely to continue prosecution in the event of conflicting accounts of what occurred at the time of their injury, how the victim sustained their injuries, and whether the victim is credible or not.
If you have been arrested on a charge of domestic violence, we cannot stress enough the importance of immediately hiring one of the highly-experienced criminal defense attorneys in Tampa. We have years of experience working with cases just like yours, a unique understanding of how domestic violence cases are prosecuted, and will be able to pursue all necessary evidence and witnesses to obtain a favorable outcome. A number of other potential defenses exist outside of the ones described above, including but not limited to mistaken identity, self defense, and defense of property. Our attorneys will not only look into the event, but will also examine the arrest to determine if your rights were violated.
For a free consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Tampa, please contact The Rickman Law Firm at (813) 999-0502 or submit our contact request form.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.