| When a person uses violence
or force upon his or her intimate partner, he or she may be
charged with battery as a California crime of intimate partner
abuse. In the GLBT community, intimate partners are partners
who have children together, partners who are civilly united,
partners who live together and partners who are dating. The
charge also applies to partners who no longer remain together
but who were once involved in one of those listed relationships.
An individual convicted of this charge faces up to one year
in the county jail if the crime was charged as a misdemeanor
or faces up to four years in the state prison if the crime
was filed as a felony.
Although an individual may be sentenced to
prison for up to four years for committing a battery against
his or her intimate partner, an experienced California domestic
violence criminal defense lawyer may be able to convince the
court that incarceration does not best serve the interests
of justice and that alternative sentencing is much more appropriate.
Alternative sentencing is a sentencing option
that is used as an alternative to jail or prison. Although
many attorneys aren’t even aware that alternative sentencing
exists, the trusted, gay-friendly attorneys at the Kavinoky
Law Firm routinely and successfully fight to keep their clients
out of jail or prison by effectively arguing the merits involved
in this type of sentencing. Keeping in mind that the punishment must fit the crime, they suggest creative alternatives that
simultaneously keep their clients out of jail and that satisfy
the judge.
Alternative sentencing options in a DV battery case include community service or labor, electronic monitoring,
also commonly referred to as house arrest or home detention,
paying restitution to one’s intimate partner, informal
or formal probation, city jail or another private jail and
enrollment and participation in classes or counseling that
focus on a defendant’s tendencies towards violence and
possibly drug and/or alcohol issues, depending on the circumstances
that surrounded the charged incident.
Alternative sentencing will only be considered
by a judge at the request of a knowledgeable defense attorney.
An experienced lawyer will address any mitigating or extenuating
circumstances that lead to the charged battery and will articulate
why the imposition of an alternative to jail or prison would
best punish and rehabilitate the accused. It should be noted
that not everyone will qualify for alternative sentencing,
as it is looked upon as a “gift” to the defendant.
With that being the case, it will most likely only apply to
a defendant with little or no criminal history, to a defendant
who didn’t use a weapon when battering his or her intimate
partner or to a defendant whose battery case was filed as
a misdemeanor, where his or her partner didn’t suffer
a serious injury.
Even with alternative sentencing options,
the consequences facing an individual charged with battery as a crime of domestic abuse are severe and possibly life
altering. The most important thing an individual accused of
battery can do is to hire a qualified DV attorney as soon
after the arrest as possible so that the attorney can begin
immediately preparing a defense. Located in Los Angeles and
throughout California, the LGBT supportive attorneys at the
Kavinoky Law Firm are dedicated to providing exceptional representation
and have successfully helped countless individuals avoid the
harsh realities of jail or prison. They will vigorously fight
for all their clients, based on each client’s needs
and will do their best to make sure that a gay, lesbian, bisexual
or transgender client will receive a sentence that takes his
or her safety into consideration. Contact the Law Offices
of Darren Kavinoky today for a free consultation. |
