Battery occurs when an individual unlawfully uses force or violence upon another. Although it’s not necessarily a crime of domestic violence, if a battery is committed against one’s intimate partner, it will be prosecuted as such. Within the GLBT community, one’s intimate partner is his or her partner or former partner in a civil union, the person with whom he or she has children, the person with whom he or she is or was living or the person whom he or she is or was dating.

Under most circumstances, battery is charged as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail and up to a $2,000 fine. An individual can accuse his or her partner with this intimate partner abuse crime even upon the slightest touch, if the touch was either unwanted or offensive. The crime will likely be charged as a felony if the accuser suffered a serious bodily injury as the result of the partner’s force or violence, which means that the accused may face up to four years in the state prison.

While those are the maximum jail and prison times that a first-time offender faces, there is no requirement that he or she serve any time whatsoever. The court decides, based on the facts before it, how much time to sentence the defendant to and whether incarceration is appropriate at all. It is therefore helpful for an individual accused of this DV crime to hire one of the gay-friendly criminal defense lawyers from the Kavinoky Law Firm who specializes in California domestic violence crimes and knows what alternative sentencing to suggest to a judge to help his or her client avoid serving time.

Prior convictions, however, change the rules. When an individual facing an intimate partner violence battery charge also has a prior domestic violence battery conviction, he or she will be required to serve at least 48 hours in the county jail. This is another reason why it is so important for an accused – especially an accused who has a prior battery conviction – to retain legal counsel who has experience dealing with California domestic abuse cases. Without a competent attorney, a defendant will definitely serve the mandatory time in jail upon a second conviction. However, a skilled defense attorney will aggressively defend his or her client by arguing that imprisoning the defendant does not serve the best interests of justice. He or she further knows what facts and circumstances will help convince the judge accordingly.

Prior convictions may also affect the outcome of the defendant’s trial. Prior conduct is usually excluded from evidence in criminal trials. However, in a domestic violence trial, prior abusive conduct (whether proven or not) is admissible and may lead a judge and/or jury to conclude that because the accused has been abusive in the past, he or she is more likely to be guilty of the charged incident.

When facing an intimate partner battery charge – especially when one has a history of prior domestic abuse – it is imperative to hire a qualified criminal defense attorney who is not only familiar with all of the issues that frequently arise with this charge, but who knows how to successfully tackle them as well. The battle to defeat a D.V. crime is difficult enough without the added challenge of not being “straight” in a homophobic society. For such an individual, it is equally important to hire an attorney who is also familiar with the privacy concerns and special issues that may arise in a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender intimate partner violence trial, who is comfortable defending such a case and who knows how to proceed under these circumstances. The LGBT supportive attorneys from the Kavinoky Law Firm have successfully defended countless individuals who were facing intimate partner abuse charges. They treat every client with compassion and respect and demand the same from the justice system. Contact them today for a free consultation.