If you have been accused of abuse by a family member, you should seek the help of our Butler domestic violence lawyer. The right legal team could protect your rights and work tirelessly to ensure you are treated fairly by the court system. Domestic violence is a highly stigmatized subject, and an arrest alone may negatively impact your life. Let our team of professionals work to protect your rights.
Hiring an experienced defense attorney is an important first step toward fighting these charges. If you are successful, you could avoid a criminal conviction on your record.
Pennsylvania law does not classify domestic violence as a separate offense. Instead, certain criminal acts involving family or household members carry steeper penalties than they would otherwise.
The key issue as to whether a charge is treated as domestic violence is the relationship between the parties. What might otherwise be a simple assault charge may be elevated to a domestic offense if the person bringing the charge is a family or household member.
There is a common misconception that these offenses only involve spouses or intimate partners. In reality, a broad range of people could qualify, including:
Whether the reporting witness to a crime qualifies as a family or household member is not always straightforward. Our Butler attorney could advise you on when domestic violence laws apply.
Although state law does not define domestic violence as a specific crime, prosecutors can upgrade certain offenses when a family or household member is involved. The result is a higher sentencing range than you would face for the same charge that did not involve a family member. Some of the most common offenses include:
Our Butler attorney could defend you against any allegations of domestic violence.
If you are accused of family violence in Butler, there are different strategies that might help you secure a favorable result, as our attorney could explain. Which of these options will work best depends on the specific facts of a case. While success is never guaranteed, the right approach could influence the outcome of your case.
Actual innocence is the most straightforward defense strategy available. Instead of justifying your actions or arguing against the admissibility of the evidence, this approach involves simply claiming the incident in question never occurred or was not a crime.
You are entitled to use reasonable force to defend yourself, even against a family member, if you are facing the immediate threat of harm. In other words, you could be found innocent even if your actions met all the elements of a crime as long as you were defending yourself and were not the aggressor.
These cases frequently involve competing stories between 2 or more people. Often, the prosecution’s evidence is not strong enough to clearly identify if a crime was committed. Challenging the lack of evidence could be enough to secure a favorable verdict if your case goes to trial.
If you have been accused of abusing a family member, it is vital that you seek out the guidance of our Butler domestic violence lawyer. Having the support of legal counsel could greatly strengthen your defense. All of our lawyers are former prosecutors and, therefore, uniquely and well-equipped to defend criminal cases.
Instead of going through this process alone, contact us to discuss your options during a private consultation.