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New York City Domestic Violence Arrests

If there is an allegation that a crime has been committed, law enforcement officers are required to make an arrest. If the New York Police Department (NYPD) can affirmatively determine that a crime was not committed when they arrive at the scene, an arrest may not be made.

An experienced domestic violence attorney knows that officers often arrest the accused individual. Contact a lawyer about what to do following New York City domestic violence arrests.

What Constitutes Probable Cause?

As a skilled New York City lawyer can further explain, there is no set definition of probable cause for domestic violence arrests. Probable cause is an officer’s determination that, based on the circumstances of what they have seen, a crime has been committed or is being committed. Therefore, the individual they are placing under arrest, in their opinion, is the responsible party.

Defining Reasonable Fear of Imminent Danger

Reasonable fear of imminent and serious physical injury or death is a standard that New York City puts in place to determine if certain crimes have been committed or if certain actions are justified responses by individuals accused of crimes.

There is a difference between reasonable fear of physical injury and reasonable fear of imminent serious physical injury. The standard for imminent fear is calculated by how an objective person would look at the situation and what conclusion they come to regarding risk of injury.

Unique Aspects of a Domestic Violence Arrest

The arrest process involves a criminal history background check, warrant, central booking, arraignment, bail hearing and then order of protection. Domestic violence arrests in New York City might be done with a little more caution because being arrested in the middle of a familial incident is a highly emotional state. People in these situations tend to already be tense and aggressive.

Expectations Following an Arrest

After being arrested for domestic violence, an individual will be taken down to the precinct where they will be processed in New York City. This includes getting their fingerprints and checking their criminal history. Once the paperwork is generated, they will be transported down to Central Booking where everything that the police officer has written up and generated will be handed over to somebody from the prosecutor’s office who will then write up all the formal charges.

After the prosecutor has charges written up, the individual will be brought in for their arraignment. Most of the New York City prosecutor’s offices request some sort of bail in a domestic violence case as a public relations policy. They do not generally consent to release on domestic violence cases unless there is something unique about it.

Importance of Not Speaking to the Police Without a Lawyer Present

A person, especially a suspect, should never speak to the police without their lawyer present because Detectives, and some uniformed Police Officers, are specially trained to elicit incriminating responses; they ask questions in a certain way that there is no way to answer them without making some sort of incriminating statement.

These detectives elicit confessions and obtain statements from people who do not fully understand what they are saying and sometimes these statements can be the best evidence that the Prosecutor has going forward against them. It is always better to demand to speak to an attorney and have the attorney present when the person is being questioned to make sure that the person is not answering questions in a way that a Prosecutor is later going to use against them.

Hire a New York City Lawyer After an Arrest for Domestic Violence

Once someone has been arrested the police are allowed to question them unless the request an attorney. Once the right to counsel attaches at the arraignment, the police know that they can no longer question that person without an attorney present.

Your attorney can protect you and advocate on your behalf. They could help you avoid incriminating yourself, while advising you on what legal options are best for you. If you have been charged with a domestic violence offense and want to know more about New York City domestic violence arrests, seek the services of a distinguished attorney that could advocate for you.

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