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Defending Domestic Violence Cases in Alexandria

Domestic assault is a crime taken very seriously in Alexandria. It is a crime that will remain on an individual’s record forever if they are convicted and it becomes extraordinarily difficult to find gainful employment if convicted. If an individual is convicted, they stand the possibility of going to jail for a period of time up to one year.

The long-term and short-term consequences of a domestic assault conviction are dire and severe. For those reasons, it is essential that someone facing charges works with a compassionate and experienced domestic violence lawyer who has experience defending domestic violence cases in Alexandria and can craft a solid defense for their client.

Steps to Build a Domestic Violence Defense

Steps to creating a defense in Alexandria will depend on the type of allegation that has been made against an individual. The first thing that a person should do is meet with their lawyer and tell the lawyer everything. The individual’s lawyer will ask them some pointed questions about exactly what happened and try to gain perspective of both sides of the event.

Next, the individual’s lawyer will give them some ideas and steps that they can take. A lot of times, if it looks like the government is going to be able to prove the case, or if the person confessed to the police when they responded to the scene, they should start getting a handle on whatever it is that caused this to happen, and perhaps go to anger management classes, counseling, even couples counseling.

If alcohol might have played a role in the charge, the person can enter into a substance abuse evaluation and treatment scenario to try to get their drinking under control. Doing all of these things in a proactive way can help soften the individual’s landing in court.

Gathering Evidence

The most important evidence gathered in a domestic violence case in Alexandria is the evidence that the government is going to have. Lawyers need to know what the complaining witness is saying, what, if any, injuries occurred, and if there were any confessions or statements made by the client. Those pieces of evidence are critical, because lawyers do not know how to defend against charges if they do not know specifically what those charges are.

Common Defenses Against Domestic Violence Charges

The most common defense in domestic violence cases in Alexandria is self-defense. Often, couples argue and that is what leads to these offenses of violence. It is unusual that a domestic assault occurs when only one person is angry. Usually, domestic assaults occur when both people are angry, one person gets pushed over the edge, and they cross that line into violence.

However, in a lot of these circumstances, there are mutual physical advances. There might be a little shove, a bump, or something that tends to escalate and then eventually somebody crosses the line.

The law in Virginia says that an individual has the right to repel any assault and an individual is allowed to use force to repel the threat or fear of an impending assault. So if an individual’s partner or spouse comes at an individual in a way that makes them think that they are about to get harmed in any way, the individual has the right under Virginia law to use enough force to repel that assault using the same amount of force.

Additionally, in some cases, a person can raise the defense of “defense of others.” For example, defense of others occurs when a parent is severely disciplining a child and the other parent feels that the disciplining parent is going too far and steps into physically intervening.

In doing so, the person commits an assault against the parent who is disciplining the child. If the person is charged with assault on their partner and can establish in court that they did commit the assault in an effort to prevent an assault to another person, namely their child, that assault is excusable under Virginia law.

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