As California is becoming stricter with its intimate partner abuse offenders, courts throughout the state, including those in Los Angeles County, have responded by developing special courts and procedures for both civil and criminal domestic violence cases. The major feature that domestic violence courts share is that they seek to enhance victim and child safety and ensure batterer accountability. If presented with a heterosexual couple, this means that the court will listen to everything that the complaining witness has to say and will throw the book at the accused. However, a gay or lesbian individual accused of a D.V. crime who lands in a D.V. court may encounter judges and/or court personnel who are unfair to or unhelpful or uncomfortable with same sex partners. This is why it is critical to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer who will keep the case in a traditional criminal court if possible or, if not, who is at least familiar with these courts, knows how to deal with the bias inherent within this system and who will ensure that the rights of a member of the LGBT community will be vigorously defended.

Domestic violence courts hear cases where the parties are intimate partners. Intimate partners include persons, regardless of their sexual orientation, who are married (or civilly united) and divorced, who live or lived together, who have children in common, and who are or were dating.

Battery against an intimate partner, sexual battery, intimidating an intimate partner, and willful infliction of injury on an intimate partner are the types of charges that may land a defendant in a California domestic violence court.

Domestic violence courts train judges and staff on how to gather relevant information on the persons before them so that they have a complete understanding of all the issues with which the partners or family is dealing. Staff members help educate victims on child support and safety issues. The staff may offer counseling, housing assistance, drug treatment, referrals to social services as well as other resources depending on the needs of the individual. These courts often provide victims with referrals for job training, child-care, mental health counseling, emergency medical services, temporary shelter, and the assignment of an advocate. They are typically victim-friendly and ruthless to the offender but, depending on the staff, may be apathetic to a same sex couple.

These courts monitor the progress of the defendant much more closely than a traditional court would. They focus on holding the offender accountable. This means that the court conducts frequent periodic reviews, imposes heavy sanctions for noncompliance with its orders, and coordinates with probation and batterer intervention programs to receive any information that sheds a negative light on the defendant. In addition, the domestic violence court judges are well trained and have an increased level of awareness on the impact and harm to children exposed to domestic violence and decide child custody issues as well.

If a defendant’s case is sent to a California domestic violence court, all hope is not lost. An experienced criminal defense lawyer who is familiar with these courts is the key to a successful defense. Hiring a GLBT friendly and experienced attorney from the Kavinoky Law Firm will help ensure that a case isn’t simply “processed” through the system with the usual bias that the court holds against a defendant. The attorneys at the Kavinoky Firm specialize in domestic violence and will aggressively fight for an individual accused of same sex intimate partner abuse. They will attempt to break down any stereotypes about homosexual abuse that a judge may have and will educate the judge about the very real problem that is same sex abuse. The knowledgeable attorneys know how to navigate the system with ease, will argue all possible defenses and make sure that the judge not only hears the defendant’s side of the story, but believes it as well. Contact an attorney from the Kavinoky Law Firm today for a free consultation and to secure the best defense available.