Fairfax Domestic Violence Attorney
Domestic violence charges can have extremely serious consequences in Virginia. While domestic violence-related offenses can result in criminal penalties like other criminal charges in the state, a domestic violence conviction can also have civil consequences and can affect a person’s ability to spend time with his or her children. To be sure, if a person is accused and convicted of a domestic violence offense, that person may be ineligible to have child custody or even visitation, depending upon the specific facts surrounding the conviction. It is extremely important to hire an aggressive Fairfax domestic violence attorney to assist you.
What is Fairfax Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is a broader term that can encompass different types of criminal offenses in Virginia. In most cases, domestic violence is charged as “assault and battery against a family or household member” (Code of Va. § 18.2-57.2). This type of offense is closely related to the offenses of assault, or assault and battery, under Virginia law.
Accordingly, a person can be charged with assault against a family or household member if that person makes threats that put a family or household member in imminent fear of bodily injury (of battery, in other words). To be clear, assault does not involve any kind of unwanted physical touching. Rather, it is a legal term that refers to a threat that puts another person in subjective fear of harm. Then, the person can face charges for assault and battery against a family or household member if there is any kind of unwanted physical touching of a family or household member. It is important to know that physical touching does not have to cause physical injury for a person to be charged with battery.
Domestic violence can also be charged as the crime of “malicious wounding or unlawful wounding” under Virginia law (Code of Va. § 18.2-51). This type of criminal act can be charged “if any person maliciously shoot, stab, cut, or wound any person or by any means cause him bodily injury, with the intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill.”
In some cases, domestic violence also results in charges of malicious bodily injury by means of a substance or strangulation.
Penalties for Domestic Violence in Fairfax, Virginia
The criminal penalties for domestic violence depend upon a number of circumstances. If a charge of assault and battery against a family or household member is brought after a person already has been convicted of one of the following other offenses, assault and battery against a family or household member will be penalized as a Class 6 felony:
- Malicious wounding or unlawful wounding;
- Aggravated malicious wounding or unlawful wounding;
- Malicious bodily injury by means of a substance; or
- Strangulation.
Conviction of a Class 6 felony can result in a fine of up to $2,500 and anywhere from 1 to 5 years of imprisonment. Otherwise, assault and battery against a family or household member is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which can result in a fine of up to $2,500 and up to one year in jail.
Contact an Aggressive Fairfax Domestic Violence Lawyer
If you have been charged with assault and battery against a family or household member, it is extremely important to get started on your defense with an experienced Fairfax domestic violence attorney. One of the Virginia criminal defense lawyers at our firm can speak with you today about your case. Contact Simms Showers LLP today for more information about planning a defense strategy for your case.
