Infliction of injury is a California domestic violence crime that applies to intimate partners. In the GLBT community, intimate partners are civilly united, living together, have children together or were formerly involved in one of these relationships. If an individual willfully inflicts any injury upon his or her intimate partner, he or she can be charged with a felony, punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $6,000.

An infliction of injury charge can be filed against an individual upon the slightest showing of an injury. This means that it would be very easy for an alleged “victim” to charge his or her partner with this crime with little or perhaps no evidence. Many times an individual will do this out of revenge, anger, or some other motive. He or she may later decide to tell the truth about what happened, but once the police are involved, it is too late to take the allegation back, as only the prosecutor and/or judge can drop the charges at that point. When this type of situation arises, it is imperative for the accused to hire a gay friendly, skilled criminal defense lawyer from the Kavinoky Law Firm.

If the partner chooses on his or her own free will that calling the police was a mistake for any reason, it is best for both partners to speak with an attorney. Many times the partner thinks that if he or she “recants” (which means to take back or deny) his or her original story or doesn’t cooperate with the police or prosecution, it will help the defendant. That is absolutely incorrect. In fact, in an intimate partner abuse case, the prosecution may anticipate that a victim will recant and knows exactly how to proceed when that happens. A genuine recanting victim can be extremely harmful to the defendant if not first guided by an experienced D.V. attorney.

When a victim recants, there are two major issues that arise. The first is that evidence that may otherwise have been inadmissible during the trial will now likely be admissible, and the second is that a recanting partner gives the prosecution a great argument against the defendant. Beginning with the first issue, when a victim recants his or her story, the prosecution is allowed to introduce a recording of the call that the partner made to the police as well as any statements made to the police during the initial investigation. Because these statements were made in the heat of the moment and possibly out of revenge or stemming from some other motive, these statements can be extremely harmful to the defense. Looking at the second issue, when a victim recants, the prosecutor usually brings in an expert witness who testifies that the victim is recanting because he or she has either been threatened by the “abuser” into doing so or that he or she is afraid of what further abuse might take place if he or she doesn’t recant. The expert will further explain that recanting is part of the “cycle of abuse” and that the partner likely suffers from “battered person’s syndrome.”

As previously stated, domestic abuse applies to intimate partners. It is the very nature of these types of intimate relationships that cause such highly charged, emotional disputes that are often blown out of proportion. The highly qualified, LGBT supportive attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm are the key to ensuring that the judge and jury believe that was the case. They understand the difficulty that a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender couple may have moving forward with this type of case in a system that may be unsympathetic (and possibly even spiteful) towards a same sex couple affected by domestic violence. With compassion and respect, they will help counsel a couple through this difficult time and prepare an appropriate defense strategy. Contact them today for a free consultation.