Domestic violence cases move quickly and carry consequences that reach into your home, your family, and your rights. The firm defends them in Florida and Washington, D.C.
A domestic violence allegation can result in an immediate protective order, removal from your home, and restrictions on contact with your family, often before the criminal case is resolved.
Florida defines domestic violence in Section 741.28 of the Florida Statutes to include assault, battery, and other offenses committed against a family or household member. A conviction for domestic battery carries consequences beyond the standard penalties for battery, including a mandatory batterers' intervention program, potential mandatory jail time, and, under Section 741.283, a minimum period of confinement when the battery caused bodily harm.
A domestic violence conviction generally cannot be sealed or expunged in Florida, even when adjudication is withheld, which makes the long-term record consequences especially significant. Separate from the criminal case, an alleged victim may seek an injunction for protection that carries its own restrictions.
The District of Columbia treats domestic violence as an intrafamily offense, and its Domestic Violence Unit handles these cases. The underlying criminal charge, often simple assault under Section 22-404 of the D.C. Code, carries the penalties for that offense, while the domestic context brings additional consequences. An alleged victim may petition the court for a Civil Protection Order, and violating such an order is itself a criminal offense.
Because the criminal case and the protective order proceeding move on separate tracks, and because contact restrictions can take effect quickly, prompt attention to both is important.
These cases are frequently complicated by emotion, by disputed accounts, and sometimes by allegations made in the heat of a separation or custody conflict. Self-defense, lack of injury, and recantation by the accuser are common features. Importantly, the decision to prosecute rests with the state, not the accuser, so a case does not simply disappear when an accuser wishes to drop it.
Alec Kohn prosecuted cases in Miami-Dade before founding the firm and understands how these files are evaluated and pursued. You work directly with the attorney handling your case, and the firm is reachable 24 hours a day.
The figures on this page are drawn from the following primary and secondary sources. Statutes and penalties change; this summary is reviewed by the firm and is not a substitute for legal advice on your specific matter.
