Violating a protective order may result in a domestic violence charge in California if the restrained individual willfully ignored the order and participated in behavior that was specifically forbidden against his or her intimate partner, the protected party named in the order. Intimate partners in a same sex relationship may be partners who have children together, who are living together, who are dating, who have been joined in a civil union or who were once involved in one of those relationships but who no longer remain together. If the individual charged with this crime has no prior convictions and there were no aggravating factors associated with his or her case, he or she will face a misdemeanor that carries a maximum one-year jail sentence and a maximum $1,000 fine.

Defenses to this offense are plentiful and an experienced California domestic violence lawyer will know which are applicable to each individual’s case. A criminal defense lawyer who specializes in intimate partner abuse crimes will examine all possible defenses by carefully investigating the facts and circumstances that surrounded the alleged incident (usually with the help of a private investigator), by interviewing all witnesses who were named in the police report and who might otherwise have pertinent information about what really took place and by making sure that any lesser included charges are filed if they are more appropriate.

Defenses to a protective order violation charge may include insufficient evidence or mitigating circumstances that can serve to reduce or entirely negate criminal culpability. Because there is no requirement that the alleged victim sustain an injury with this charge, there may be no physical proof of the violation. Similarly, because most instances of domestic abuse occur in private, there are rarely eyewitnesses to help corroborate the alleged victim’s accusation. When these types of situations arise, a skilled DV attorney will argue that there is insufficient evidence to charge his or her client or may argue that mitigating circumstances played a role in the case that absolve the accused from any criminal liability.

Some other defenses to this crime include legality (was the protective order issued for a lawful purpose?) and knowledge (did the defendant actually know the order existed and have the opportunity to read and/or understand its contents?). Self-defense or the defense of others could be a possible defense, depending on the circumstances that surrounded the alleged violation. When a California domestic violence attorney reviews the facts of the case, he or she knows how to spot the issues that could ultimately defend his or her client and how to most effectively present them to the court.

False accusations may be another defense that the defendant’s attorney may wish to explore. There are a variety of reasons that one would falsely accuse his or her intimate partner of violating a protective order and may include revenge, anger or jealousy. An individual should immediately tell his or her attorney if this scenario sounds familiar so that the lawyer can begin building a defense immediately based on this premise and so he or she can also help the accused initiate a criminal complaint against his or her spiteful partner.

With law offices in Los Angeles and throughout California, the unparalleled, GLBT supportive attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm have mastered all of the available defenses to this crime, know exactly which to use, depending on the specific facts of each client’s case, and, most importantly, know how to effectively communicate them to the judge and jury. For legal advice about how to defend against a protective order violation, contact them today for a free consultation and for unbeatable representation.