Possible Consequences of Domestic Violence Charges in Jersey City
Domestic violence charges can quickly change your life. Indeed, they can instantly throw your world upside down. When you are arrested for domestic violence, you can be removed from your house and separated from your children. That is why a domestic abuse charge must be taken seriously. If you are facing this charge, hire a domestic violence lawyer near me as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could lose child custody, your right to own a firearm, your weapons permanently, or your job. Also, you can be banned from supervising or coaching other kids.
When facing a domestic violence charge, you may not understand what’s at stake. But an attorney can educate you about this. Also, they understand that such cases must be treated as serious crimes. Sadly, false accusations can be made or exaggerated like gaining an advantage in child custody disputes or divorce cases.
A reliable attorney can protect your legal rights once you contact them. In Jersey City, domestic violence cases tend to move quickly and prosecutors can easily get you steamrolled. By hiring an attorney as early as possible, you have an ally who has extensive experience and employs an aggressive approach to your defense to defeat the charges against you, clear your name, and restore your life to normalcy.
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Understanding Domestic Violence
In Jersey City, NJ, domestic violence is not only one offense. Rather, it can be several criminal offenses committed against a protected individual that the accused has a relationship with. The protected individual can be a spouse, former household members or other adults present, emancipated minors present, boyfriend and girlfriends, or parents of shared children. Charges of domestic violence against a protected individual can be based on homicide, kidnapping, assault and battery, terrorist threats, sexual assault, false imprisonment, criminal restraint, lewdness, criminal sexual contact, burglary, harassment, criminal trespass, stalking, harassment, robbery, criminal coercion, cyber harassment, and more.
How an Attorney Can Fight Serious Penalties
If a court finds you guilty of domestic violence, a restraining order will be imposed against you. If somebody files a criminal complaint against you, you could face hefty fines, jail time, and reputational harm that can last forever. The penalties for domestic violence crimes in NJ are determined according to their classification. For instance, a first-degree indictable crime can get you imprisoned for ten years and pay up to a $10, 000 fine.
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Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Law Matters
Domestic violence penalties can be significant. Every crime carries potential jail time, and consequences can be faced long after release. However, domestic violence charges can also affect your legal rights in matters about family law like divorce and child custody.
Domestic violence charges can affect divorce proceedings in many ways. For instance, a domestic violence arrest may offer grounds for a fault-based divorce. Although no-fault divorce filings are allowed in the state, fault-based divorces are also recognized. No matter the kind of divorce a spouse files, family violence allegations can result in issues with property division, child custody, and spousal support.
In New Jersey, marital assets are subject to equitable division in a divorce. When judges decide what’s fair or equitable, they take into account many factors, including domestic violence allegations. Also, a list of satisfactory factors is used as a basis to determine rights to spousal support. In addition, child custody determinations are made based on the child’s best interests. Also, the child custody statute in the state lists many factors to be taken into account, including any history of domestic violence. Your spouse may use your domestic violence arrest to seek additional child custody rights. Depending on the charges filed against you, the court may consider you an unfit parent.
