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If you’ve been accused of domestic violence in Florida, you should talk to a Jacksonville domestic violence lawyer right away. A domestic violence conviction is often more serious than a conviction for a similar crime not classified as domestic violence, and may trigger a mandatory minimum jail sentence.

Domestic Violence Overview

What is Considered Domestic Violence in Florida?

A person may be charged with a domestic violence crime in Florida if:

  • They are accused of certain violent crimes, AND
  • The alleged victim is a family or household member

What Crimes Can Trigger a Domestic Violence Charge?

The underlying crimes that can lead to a domestic violence charge in Florida include:

  • Assault or aggravated assault
  • Battery or aggravated battery
  • Sexual assault or sexual battery
  • Stalking or aggravated stalking
  • Kidnapping or false imprisonment
  • Any crime that results in physical injury or death

Family and Household Members

For purposes of Florida’s domestic violence statute, the definition of “family or household member” is broad. You may be charged with domestic violence if the victim of a qualifying crime is:

  • Your spouse or former spouse
  • Anyone related to you by blood or marriage who lives in the same household with you
  • Anyone related to you by blood or marriage who previously lived in the same household with you
  • Anyone you live with as a family, or have lived with as a family in the past
  • Anyone you share a child with, even if you have never lived with them or been married to them

Domestic Violence Charges

Common Domestic Violence Charges in Jacksonville

Battery is the most commonly charged domestic violence crime in Florida. However, it is important to note that there are both different degrees of battery and different types of battery. Depending on the circumstances, domestic battery may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, and the consequences may be quite different.

A Jacksonville criminal defense attorney with experience in domestic violence crimes will be your best source of information about what’s at stake in your case.

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Domestic Violence Penalties

Penalties for Domestic Violence Convictions

All crimes of domestic violence are based on an underlying crime. However, the penalties for those crimes can be more serious when the crime is charged as domestic violence.

Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Charges

Intentionally causing bodily harm to another person in Florida is battery. A first offense battery charge is a misdemeanor of the first degree, meaning a maximum sentence of up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. There is no minimum required jail sentence for the crime.

However, when the battery is a crime of domestic violence, there is a mandatory minimum jail sentence of at least 10 days, longer if it’s a second or subsequent domestic violence offense. The same is true for any other domestic violence crime that involves intentionally causing bodily harm to the victim. The mandatory minimum jail sentence is also increased if the crime occurred in the presence of a child aged 16 or younger who is a family or household member of either the victim or the accused.

Other misdemeanor domestic violence charges include:

  • Assault (a misdemeanor of the second degree with a maximum sentence of 60 days)
  • Stalking (a misdemeanor of the first degree with a maximum sentence of 12 months)

These crimes also carry more serious penalties for second or subsequent offenses.

Felony Domestic Violence Charges

Most crimes of domestic violence are felonies of the second or third degree. These include:

  • False imprisonment (may be second or third degree, depending on the age of the victim)
  • Aggravated assault (third degree)
  • Aggravated battery (second degree)
  • Aggravated stalking (third degree)

The consequences of a felony domestic violence conviction can be quite severe.

Penalties for a Felony of the Third Degree

A person convicted of a domestic violence crime that is a felony of the third degree may be sentenced to:

  • A prison term of up to five years, and
  • A fine of up to $5,000

Penalties for a Felony of the Second Degree

A person convicted of a domestic violence crime that is a felony of the second degree may be sentenced to:

  • A prison term of up to 15 years, and
  • A fine of up to $10,000

Additional Consequences of a Domestic Violence Conviction

Regardless of the classification of the crime, a person convicted of a domestic violence crime may also face consequences such as:

  • A term of probation
  • Mandated participation in a batterers’ intervention program, counseling, or other programs
  • Court-ordered restitution to the victim
  • Loss of gun rights
  • Limitations on contact with the victim and possibly other family members
  • Loss of immigration status

If you’re facing domestic battery charges or other domestic violence charges in Jacksonville, the best source of information about the possible consequences in your case and how you may be able to fight the charges is an experienced domestic violence defense lawyer. You can schedule a free consultation with defense attorney Matthew Lufrano right now by calling (904) 513-3905.

Defense Against Domestic Violence Charges

Defense Strategies for Domestic Violence Charges

The best defense for you will depend on the charges you’re facing and the facts of your case. Your Jacksonville domestic violence lawyer can explain your options in greater detail after hearing more about the incident that led to the charge.

Some defenses are similar to those in any other criminal case, such as:

  • Disputing the facts asserted by the prosecution
  • Asserting that your rights were violated, and evidence should be excluded

Others are specific to battery and related crimes, but not to domestic violence. For example:

  • Asserting that you acted in self-defense
  • Arguing that the incident that gave rise to the charges was an accident

Still others are domestic violence specific. For instance:

  • Disputing that the necessary familial relationship applies
  • Disputing the presence of a child claimed to enhance penalties

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Why Hire a Domestic Violence Attorney in Jacksonville, FL?

Domestic violence cases are messy, complicated, emotional, and can have serious, sometimes lifelong consequences.

An experienced Jacksonville domestic violence lawyer can take charge of all aspects of your case, from managing technical requirements and advising you on how to protect yourself to investigating your case and gathering evidence. Attorney Matthew Lufrano has spent his entire legal career fighting for people who have been charged with crimes in Florida, including those accused of domestic violence.

To learn more about how Lufrano Legal can help you, call (904) 513-3905 today or fill out our contact form.

Domestic Violence Defense FAQs

First, stop talking. Domestic violence situations are often highly emotional, and your instinct may be to get your side of the story out right away. Unfortunately, talking to law enforcement about your charges often backfires–even when you’re innocent. In most cases, the best thing to do is politely exercise your right to remain silent and then reach out to an experienced domestic violence lawyer in Jacksonville right away.

Domestic violence defense attorneys take many different approaches to fighting allegations of domestic violence, depending on the specifics of the case. The process starts with hearing your story and seeking out other evidence that may support your defense, such as video footage or witnesses.

Your attorney may be able to move to suppress evidence, call the credibility of the alleged victim or other witnesses into question, present witnesses and other evidence that contradicts the alleged victim’s claims, and identify other weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.

The prosecuting attorney makes the decision as to whether or not to file charges and proceed with the case, not the alleged victim. Though a reluctant victim can make it more difficult to secure a conviction, prosecutors in Florida often press forward anyway. You should never assume that a case is going away simply because the alleged victim says they are going to “drop the charges.”

The right defense for you depends on the specifics of your case, and the best source of information and advocacy is an experienced local attorney. For example, domestic violence defense lawyers may explore the possibility of arguing self-defense. Your lawyer may also seek to suppress evidence against you, such as statements you may have made without being advised of your rights.

Ultimately, the burden is on the prosecution to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. An important part of a Jacksonville domestic violence lawyer’s job is to hold the prosecution to that burden.

Even if you bond out of jail following a domestic violence arrest, you may not be able to return home. That’s because the conditions of bond in a domestic violence case nearly always include a no contact order–a court order prohibiting the defendant from having contact with the alleged victim. Violating the no contact order can lead to revocation of your bond.

The alleged victim may also secure a protective order, which may include more specific limitations on your interactions. Violation of that order could result in new charges.

If you’ve been charged with domestic violence and released, it’s important to talk to a Jacksonville domestic violence lawyer before you attempt to return home–even to gather your belongings. Note that permission from the alleged victim does not override a court order.

The burden is on the party asking for the protective order. However, the burden isn’t as high as it is in a criminal case. At the hearing, the party seeking the injunction goes first, and presents their evidence about why they need protection. That may include their own testimony, witness testimony, police reports, and other types of evidence such as medical records.

Then, you’ll have an opportunity to respond. Effectively arguing against a protective order typically involves more than just telling your side of the story. A Jacksonville domestic violence lawyer can help you gather the evidence you need to fight a domestic violence injunction, and argue the case for you.

While a domestic violence charge that does not result in a conviction may, in some cases, be expunged in Florida, a conviction generally cannot. That’s because Florida law specifically makes a conviction for “Assault or battery, as defined in ss. 784.011 and 784.03, respectively, of one family or household member by another family or household member, as defined in s. 741.28(3)” ineligible for expungement.

Some other related crimes, such as stalking or domestic violence strangulation, are also on the ineligible list. If you’re not sure whether the crime you are charged with or have been convicted of may be eligible for expungement, the best source of information is an experienced domestic violence lawyer in Jacksonville.

The vast majority of crimes charged in Florida, including domestic violence crimes, are not witnessed by police. While a police witness can certainly strengthen a case, a variety of other types of evidence can be used to support a domestic violence charge. These include testimony from the alleged victim and other witnesses, medical documentation of injuries, police testimony about the condition of the premises when they arrived, your demeanor at the scene, and anything you said at the time.

Of course, these are just some of the most common examples of evidence that may be introduced in a Jacksonville domestic violence case. The best source of advice about the strength of the case against you and how you may be able to fight it is your domestic violence defense attorney.

In Florida, the law favors shared parenting time and parental responsibility. However, the statute sets forth a list of reasons the court may find that shared parenting is not in the child’s best interest. The very first listed reason is evidence of domestic violence.

A pending domestic violence case or domestic violence conviction, or domestic violence injunction, may also impact custody and visitation due to protective orders or conditions of bond. If you are in the process of a divorce or otherwise dealing with custody issues and you are charged with a crime of domestic violence, your custody lawyer may need to coordinate with your domestic violence defense lawyers.