Domestic violence cases are subject to strict legislation by our government.  This means that certain mandatory minimum sentences have been established for such cases, underscoring the serious legal consequences involved.

Despite the extreme measures taken due to political pressure and other factors, a skilled criminal defense attorney can still play a crucial role in mitigating the severity of a domestic violence case, offering hope for a less severe outcome.

Suppose the root of the problem involves some sort of an issue with a family member, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a husband, a wife — some sort of a significant other. In that case, there's certain minimum sentences that apply to the particular case.

For example, a person has to do a 52-week domestic violence course. That's once a week for one year, and you cannot escape that when it comes to these cases. Also, they're typically going to put you on three years of misdemeanor probation, which basically means you can't get in trouble for those three years, or you would violate your probation.

You also have that ten-year gun ban where you're not allowed to have a gun for ten years when it comes to your domestic violence cases.

These are not just minor inconveniences. There are serious consequences that you will face if the prosecutors can get a conviction against you.  That's not where the punishment ends.  That's just the bare minimum that's mandated by the legislature.

Serious Nature of the Offense

Other potential punishments really have to do with the danger and seriousness level of your domestic violence case.  Obviously, the more damage that you've caused to the other party, the more dangerous that the prosecutors and judge perceive you, and the more likely you are to get a harsh punishment.

When you talk harsh punishment, you're talking prison.  You're talking in a lot of these felony domestic violence cases, you're looking at six years in prison for a high term for one of these charges, and if you add in the fact that if you cause great bodily injury to the alleged victim in the case, that is a three-year enhancement.

So, that's an extra three years that's tacked onto the back of that six years, so in a lot of these cases, your exposure could be nine years if you seriously injure somebody.

What that great bodily injury allegation does, in addition to adding three years to your sentence, also makes the case a strike pursuant to the California Three Strikes Law.  So, now you have a strike on your record.  You're going to serve 85% of that time usually.

Some of these cases can be very serious.  Obviously, moving down from a prison sentence, which most people don't get, especially if it's your first offense, you could be facing local time in the Los Angeles County Jail.  That time could be served at Wayside County Jail or Twin Towers.

Those are the three areas in Los Angeles County where they house men who commit domestic violence crimes against their girlfriends or wives, and they also have the Lynnwood Detention Facility where they house women who commit domestic violence crimes.  So, jail is another option in addition to the other punishments I've mentioned.

Protective Orders

Another effective weapon that the prosecutors use is what's called a protective order. Basically, the judge orders the defendant to stay a hundred yards away from the victim in the case, and that's usually while the case is pending and even after the case in many circumstances—especially if it's a felony.

Even if the victim wants the protective order removed, many times, the judges refuse to do it because they feel that the victim is not going to protect themselves, so I'm going to protect them. I'm going to order the defendant to stay away from them.

Then if you have a circumstance where somebody gets into an argument or a fight, the neighbors call the police, the police come — nobody's been hit but the people are together and the police can see that there's a protective order there — now the person's going to be arrested.

They're going to violate that protective order, which is a new crime in and of itself. If the person is on probation to a particular court, they will violate the probation. Then, they will be exposed to punishment in their domestic violence case—whatever the maximum sentence is for whatever they pled guilty to.

So, there are all sorts of different things that the prosecutor can use.  They can make the person do AA meetings if they think alcohol is an issue in the case.  They're going to craft a punishment that fits the crime, and that is going to put the victim in the best position not to have any more issues with this particular defendant.

So, obviously, you're going want to have a criminal defense attorney that is local to the court where your case is pending, who knows how to handle domestic violence cases and is going to be looking out for your best interest in this situation and really make a strong effort to get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible.