How Is Domestic Battery Defined In Florida?

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Domestic battery is an unlawful touching. It does not have to be a strike, but it can be. It can be a touching or a striking of a person against their will by someone who is in a domestic situation or a live-in situation typically. Domestic violence is a broader umbrella than domestic battery and it includes assaults, batteries, sexual batteries, aggravated stalking, and kidnappings, all of those kinds of things that result from activities of one household member to another.

Domestic violence is defined as a wide net so to speak, and includes activities that are crimes even if committed against individuals who are not in a domestic situation, but they become domestic violence if they are against family members. For instance, kidnapping; if you go out and you put someone in a car at gun point and drive off with them, that is armed kidnapping. If you put them in a car and they happen to be an estranged husband or wife that, becomes kidnapping, but it is a domestic violence as well because, it is dealing with a household member.

Is It Common For Domestic Violence Cases To Accompany Divorce Scenarios?

It is a fairly common practice unfortunately. A lot of times; the wives or girlfriends try to bring up domestic violence instances to try and get the upper hand in the family law cases. They are trying to get a judge to rule in their favor simply because; they have experienced domestic violence in their relationships. Mostly it is just a false accusation.

Is An Automatic Order Of Protection Put In Place When Domestic Violence Is Alleged?

Yes. In our area, there is a part of the process with that first appearance hearing, where the judicial office will set a bond. They will also set conditions on the bond and there will not be any contact and they cannot be around that individual within five hundred feet of their place of employment or where they are living. They have one opportunity to go and get personal effects from their residence their residence and anything further will have to be taken up with another court order.

It is on a situation basis, but if there is a no contact order in place, then many times there is a criminal case and corresponding injunctions. A person who is accusing another of assaulting and battery goes and gets a civil domestic violence injunction to restrain that person as well. That is in the family court room.

How Are Domestic Violence Charges Determined To Be Either Misdemeanor Or Felony?

It is the extent of the injury or the action that was taken against the person. Battery by strangulation is a felony in Florida. If you strike someone; let us just say the husband strikes the wife in the face and breaks her nose that is an aggravated battery, but it depends on the extent of the injury. Typically though, misdemeanor battery is battery with a domestic component.

Does The Alleged Victim Have To Be Injured For Domestic Violence Charges To Apply?

There are instances where law enforcement does not arrest anyone, but that is relatively rare. However, if a law enforcement officer sees no sign of a struggle, no injury to the victim, there are officers who will choose not to arrest and give the individual a domestic violence pamphlet for seeking an injunction. Typically there does not have to be injury per se, but if an officer sees red marks or some indication of a struggle, there will be an arrest. Sometimes both individuals are arrested.

For more information on Domestic Violence In Florida, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (888) 983-6919 today.