Expectations Following a New York City Domestic Violence Charge
Violence against family members is taken seriously in New York City. While there is no specific charge of domestic violence in New York City, a person can get charged with assault, menacing, or harassment. Domestic violence is an umbrella term that encompasses the victimology of the crime.
Domestic violence can be defined as a crime perpetrated against either a blood relative, somebody a person is married to, somebody a person used to be married to, somebody a person has a child with or somebody a person has been in an intimate relationship with. A domestic violence case refers to the status of the complainant rather than a specific action done. If an individual has been charged with a domestic violence offense, they should consult an experienced domestic violence attorney today. A qualified lawyer could answer any questions a person may have about what their expectations following a New York City domestic violence charge should be.
Duty of Law Enforcement
Law enforcement has an obligation to fully and thoroughly investigate any claims and any criminal activity that has been perpetrated whether it is domestic violence or otherwise. In New York City, instances or allegations of domestic violence tend to resolve in an arrest and possibly a subsequent investigation although that does not generally happen.
More often than not when law enforcement is contacted with an allegation of domestic violence, rather than spend the time, energy, and resources for a full and thorough investigation of what is happening, the police make an arrest and assume the legal aspects will get sorted out later.
Expectations Following an Arrest
One of the expectations following a New York City domestic violence charge is that an individual will be arrested. It is rare that a person is accused of domestic violence and is able to talk their way out of it. Most of the time, the NYPD will place them under arrest. The person will be charged and go face a judge where a bail determination will be made and a criminal case will be instituted. From there, the case can go in any number of directions, but the one thing a person can expect is that there will be a criminal case instituted against them.
Prosecution of Domestic Violence Charges
When someone calls 911 because of a domestic violence incident, the New York City Police Department shows up and arrests the defendant. Then, the defendant is booked and processed and brought in front of a judge to have the charges formally read against them and to be arraigned. At that point, the case will be assigned to a prosecutor, usually in a specific domestic violence bureau. The prosecutor will then reach out to the complainant and interview them in order to get an account of what happened. They will gauge if the complainant is cooperative. What the complainant wants to as resolution in the case is a big factor for domestic violence prosecutors.
A major factor that might lead a prosecutor to continue a case or push a case forward is the wishes of the complainant on whether or not they want to go forward. The case is the prosecutors. They can dispose of it however they want but, when the complainant is the key witness, getting their input is certainly a heavy factor to be considered in determining the best way to resolve these cases.
Benefits of Working With a New York City Domestic Violence Attorney
It is important for a person accused of domestic violence to have an attorney with them throughout the entire process. An individual should work with someone who understands the complexities of what the potential ramifications are at each step of the criminal proceeding.
Having a domestic violence attorney is paramount when trying to navigate the potential solutions and case dispositions. An attorney who does not know the domestic violence landscape or is not invested in learning what the family court ramifications could further complicate a person’s case. An experienced lawyer could set realistic expectations following a New York City domestic violence charge and could work diligently to achieve a positive outcome for the individual.