A domestic violence-related charge can lead to the loss of your freedom, threaten your career, and damage your reputation. The consequences may be even more far-reaching and devastating if you have children. If you have been charged with domestic violence, you need to work with an experienced domestic violence defense attorney in Monument, Colorado, who will fight fiercely to prevent a conviction and minimize the consequences in your case.
The domestic violence defense lawyers at Peakstone Law Group, formerly known as Patterson Weaver, are ready to help. You can count on us to use the full extent of our legal skills, insights, and resources to seek the best possible outcome for you.
Contact us now to discuss your criminal charges in a free consultation with a Monument domestic violence lawyer.
How Our Domestic Violence Defense Attorneys Can Help You
Our founding attorney, Patterson Weaver, is a former prosecutor. With his experience as an attorney on both sides of domestic violence cases, he knows how to evaluate the charges against you, explain the potential outcomes in your case, and work with you to craft a defense strategy that is aimed at seeking the best possible outcome.
Knowing how important your domestic violence case is to you and your future, our legal team at Peakstone Law Group will be committed to:
- Thoroughly investigating, researching, and analyzing all of the evidence
- Providing you with an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in your case
- Negotiating skillfully to seek dismissal of the domestic violence-related charges against you or to obtain a plea offer that meets your needs and goals
- Drawing on our extensive background as litigators to fight for you in court
- Keeping you informed at every stage in your case because our legal team takes our responsibility to communicate with our clients seriously
What Constitutes Domestic Violence in Monument?
Under Colorado’s domestic violence laws (C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3), many types of conduct fall under the definition of “domestic violence.” The term refers to an act or threatened act of violence against a person with whom the person is or has been involved in an “intimate relationship.” This term encompasses relationships between current or former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, or parents of the same child, regardless of whether they were ever married or even lived together.
In other words, even if you are no longer in a romantic relationship with the person who has accused you of domestic violence, and even if you never were romantic partners, the relationship could still be the basis for bringing a domestic violence-related charge against you.
A domestic violence charge in Monument, Colorado, can also arise if you allegedly commit another crime or a municipal ordinance violation against a person or property, including an animal, as “a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge directed against” the person with whom you have an intimate relationship.
What to Expect If Accused of Domestic Violence
Life can become scary and uncertain when you are charged with a domestic violence-related offense in Monument or elsewhere in Colorado. It is important to know the process that lies ahead. If you have been accused of suspected domestic violence, you can expect the following:
- Domestic violence arrest — If a police officer has probable cause to believe an individual has committed domestic violence, Colorado law requires the officer to make a mandatory arrest of the suspect.
- Protection order — If a domestic violence charge is filed, a mandatory protection order must be issued as well. The order typically prohibits the suspect from having physical or verbal contact with the alleged victim or interacting with the person through texting or social media. Many other restrictions may be imposed as well.
- Plea hearing — At your first hearing, you must enter a plea. It is crucial to consult with an attorney before you enter this plea. Keep in mind that even if the accuser recants the accusation of domestic violence, a prosecutor can move forward with the case.
- Plea or trial — Domestic violence cases are fast-tracked in Monument. Your attorney will need to respond quickly to the charges against you and be prepared to seek a plea agreement that serves your needs and goals or to fight the charges against you in court.
Legal Penalties for Domestic Violence Convictions
Under Colorado law, domestic violence is not punished as a standalone crime. Instead, a domestic violence charge can lead to the enhancement of a sentence and, in turn, more severe punishment.
Typically, a domestic violence charge enhances the penalties for offenses such as:
- Harassment
- Assault
- Sexual assault or sexual contact
- False imprisonment
- Child abuse or elder abuse
The penalties imposed can include mandatory domestic violence evaluation and treatment, loss of the right to buy or possess guns or ammunition, fines, and court fees, incarceration in jail or prison, and being placed on house arrest and forced to wear an electronic monitor. A domestic violence charge could also affect your career, education, and immigration status.
If you are charged with violating a domestic violence protection order, you could face penalties for a Class 1 misdemeanor. Even if it is a first-time offense, you could be sentenced to up to 364 days in jail and ordered to pay up to $1,000 in fines or both.
If you obtain a fourth domestic violence conviction, you could be charged with a Class 5 felony, which carries one to three years in prison (with a mandatory two-year parole period) and a fine ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.
Potential Legal Defenses Against Domestic Violence Charges
At Peakstone Law Group, we work hard to craft compelling and effective defense strategies. In a domestic violence case, potential defenses may include:
- Illegal procedure — If law enforcement officers engaged in unlawful conduct while investigating the alleged domestic violence incident, such as searching your house without justification, it could lead to a dismissal of the charge.
- Accident — In some cases, an act that gives rise to a domestic violence charge was accidental or simply done without any purpose of coercing, controlling, punishing, intimidating, or exacting revenge on someone else.
- Self-defense or defense of others — A person may use an appropriate degree of physical force to defend themselves when they face imminent harm or to defend others, such as their children, from such harm.
- False allegation — All too often, people in intimate relationships make false claims of domestic violence simply to get a person to move out of their home, influence child custody determinations, or exact revenge.
Contact Our Experienced Monument Domestic Violence Defense Lawyers
If you are facing a domestic violence-related charge in Monument, do not wait to get legal help. You must move quickly to protect your rights.
Contact us today at Peakstone Law Group. Our initial consultations are free. We can review your case and discuss in more detail how a domestic violence attorney from our firm can help you fight the charges and fight for your future.