Stalking will be charged when an individual follows or harasses and threatens another with the intent to place that person in fear. In and of itself, it is not a domestic violence crime. However, if an individual follows or harasses and threatens his or her intimate partner with the intent to place that partner in fear, that individual will be charged with stalking as a domestic abuse crime. California’s domestic violence laws apply to all crimes where the defendant and the alleged victim are intimate partners. Intimate partners involved in a same sex relationship are those who are or were dating, those who are or were living together, those who are or were civilly united and those who have children together.

Depending on the circumstances, a stalking charge may be filed as either a misdemeanor or a felony, subjecting the accused to up to one year in the county jail and/or a maximum $1,000 fine or up to one year in the state prison, respectively. The law imposes no mandatory imprisonment for this charge, absent certain aggravating factors. A skilled California domestic violence lawyer may, therefore, be able to persuade the court to impose probation conditions that will keep his or her client out of jail or prison. If, however, the accused has specific prior convictions on his or her record, he or she will likely face at least two and as many as five years in the state prison. The outstanding, gay-friendly attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm will aggressively defend their clients and will argue against mandatory imprisonment. Because of their deep understanding of intimate partner abuse crimes, they know what facts and circumstances may help convince a court that alternative sentencing would be more appropriate.

Prior convictions for a felony stalking charge will cause a defendant convicted in his or her current stalking case to face imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or five years, depending on the circumstances of both offenses. When a defendant convicted of intimate partner stalking also has prior convictions for infliction of injury, violation of a court order or criminal threats, he or she may be punished by the same one-year jail sentence with or without the $1,000 fine, by the same one-year prison sentence or, depending on the circumstances of the pending case and of the prior conviction(s), will face two, three or five years in the state prison. A criminal defense lawyer who specializes in DV law knows which arguments to make to help keep these penalties to a minimum.

Prior convictions not only affect sentencing, but also may unfortunately affect the outcome of the defendant’s trial. California allows in evidence of a defendant’s prior domestic violence convictions in a pending D.V. case even though prior convictions are excluded in most other types of criminal cases. The reason that this type of evidence is usually excluded is because a jury is likely to conclude that if the accused “did it before” he or she is “likely to do it again,” relying on old evidence instead of the evidence presented in the open case.

Prior convictions raise a host of issues that otherwise don’t exist in a first-time offender’s stalking case. This is another reason why it is critical that the accused contacts the unparalleled, LGBT supportive attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm who specialize in domestic abuse charges and therefore understand the complex and technical rules that are involved with these types of cases. With law offices in Los Angeles and throughout California, they have experience dealing with courts located throughout the state and know which arguments are most likely to persuade each to minimize all penalties. They understand the unique issues and trepidation that their non-heterosexual clients may have and are well equipped to effectively, compassionately and respectfully resolve any such concerns. For legal advice about a stalking charge, contact them today for a free consultation and for unsurpassed representation.