New York City Roommate Violence Penalties

Generally, after their freshman or sophomore year of college, people have the ability to pick their roommates for the rest of their life. Most people do not just live with somebody random. Everyone investigates the people that they plan to live with at least a little bit before they move in. When determining New York City roommate violence penalties, the type of crime alleged and the relationship two people have will be taken into consideration.

Any time that a person seeks out a roommate or advertises that they have a room, suite, or apartment, and somebody fills it, it is not domestic violence by virtue of the fact that somebody else is living in the same apartment or house. Domestic violence requires the added element of some sort of present or past intimate relationship. Contact a distinguished roommate violence attorney about how to fight charges of roommate violence.

Immediate Criminal Consequences for Conviction

In the short-term, the defendant is going to be arrested, brought to the station, processed, fingerprinted, brought in front of a judge, have the charges publicly filed against them, and made subject to an order of protection. From there, the person is going to have to show up in court when they are supposed to and work with their attorney to do everything they can to exonerate them and clear their name.

Impacts in the Workplace

In New York City, the penalties for being convicted of roommate violence can affect a person’s work and social life, depending on what they do for a living. They may be mandated by their employee handbook to inform their employer that they have been arrested. And even if providing notice is not mandated, it may be difficult to continually take time off of work to make court appearances.

Should they elect not to tell their boss the reason they are taking off every four or six weeks is because they have to go court, they may run out of sick days, personal days, or vacation days. There are a lot of collateral things that go along with being arrested and it can cost money. In addition to the costs potentially associated with missing work, people are required to make a determination of how much they are willing to pay to hire someone to effectively handle the situation.

Understanding the Social Stigma Associated with Violent Crimes

There are always things that people do not expect and cannot plan for when considering the potential penalties they could face for a roommate violence conviction in New York City. The long-term consequences of a criminal conviction, especially in a case involving an alleged victim, are never good.

A criminal conviction has serious repercussions for a person’s life. They are essentially branded. They are set apart from society. It is difficult to get or hold a decent job, higher education. Depending on what the conviction is for, it can even be difficult to open a bank account.

General Crimes vs. Violent Crimes

In New York City, if someone does not face some form of domestic violence charge, roommate violence penalties will be determined as a general crime between parties that are not strangers. When prosecutors look at these cases, one of the first things they always look at is the nature of the relationship between the parties.

Sometimes they might be engaged in a relationship which would result in charges of domestic violence, sometimes they might be friends or acquaintances, and sometimes they might be strangers. In a roommate case, it is very unlikely that they will answer that question as strangers. It is put in the category of cases were two or potentially more people know each other, something happened and a crime was alleged, and the prosecutor takes the case over from there.

Call a New York City Attorney to Fight Back Against Roommate Violence Penalties

Facing allegations of hurting another person in your houshold is always a serious matter. New York City roommate violence penalties can be severe. These allegations can also be incredibly difficult to defend yourself against without experienced legal counsel.

We are ready to fight on your behalf. Call now to learn more.