Infliction of injury may be charged against a GLBT individual when he or she willfully inflicts an injury, no matter how minor, upon his or her intimate partner. His or her intimate partner may be the person with whom he or she lives or lived, the person with whom he or she has children or his or her partner or former partner in a civil union. If charged with this crime of domestic violence, an individual faces a felony, punishable by up to four years in the state prison and up to a $6,000 fine.

While that is the gist of an infliction of injury charge, there may be facts and circumstances that surrounded the alleged incident that could be considered “aggravating factors” and will, in turn, force a court to impose additional sentencing if the suspect is found guilty of the crime. This is simply another reason why an accused should always hire an experienced attorney when charged with a crime. The gay friendly skilled criminal defense lawyers at the Kavinoky Law Firm have experience in defending California domestic abuse cases. They are familiar with this special area of the law and will not only aggressively defend the charges, but will also do their best to keep all penalties to a minimum by arguing the injustice involved in imposing additional penalties.

In an infliction of injury case, if the accused either lives with or lived with the alleged victim or a minor (a person under 18), or the accused is civilly united to the victim, or the accused is a parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, foster parent, or other blood relative of the minor, and the alleged abuse occurred in the presence of or was witnessed by that minor, the accused will face an aggravated sentence if convicted of the crime.

Before the court sentences a convicted defendant, it will hear from both parties as to whether there were any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that it should consider. When the prosecution presents aggravating circumstances, the court will generally impose the strictest available penalty unless a good defense attorney is able to dissuade it from doing so. When aggravating circumstances exist, it is critical that the accused contacts an attorney who has the knowledge and skills to effectively convince the court that to impose an additional sentence would be against the interests of justice.

In addition to the aggravating factor just described, the consequences of a conviction for infliction of injury may also be more severe if, as a result of the abuse, the victim suffered a significant or substantial physical injury. If the victim sustained this type of “great bodily injury,” the accused faces an additional three to five years in prison. This means that an individual who is convicted of infliction of injury in a case where the victim was seriously injured faces up to nine total years in prison.

With such devastating consequences, it is imperative that an individual who has been arrested on an infliction of injury charge hires a qualified criminal defense attorney who is familiar with all of the defenses that apply to this charge. In addition, it is critical that a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individual hires an attorney who is dedicated to defending his or her client’s rights and who will make sure that a gay client receives a fair trial in a system so fraught with homophobic ignorance and apathy towards same sex couples. The LGBT supportive attorneys from the Kavinoky Law Firm have successfully defended countless individuals who were facing intimate partner abuse charges. They receive on-going education and training in this highly complex and technical area of the law, which is directly responsible for their outstanding results. When things are at their worst, the attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm are at their best! Contact them today for a free consultation and for the best representation.