Our experienced Broward County domestic violence defense attorneys have decades of practice in handling domestic violence cases, which bring with them a generalized stigma; being charged with and/or convicted of the crime of domestic violence can jeopardize your reputation. Our defense lawyers in Broward County aggressively represent our clients so that their futures are not threatened due to past mistakes or misunderstandings. Our attorneys also have decades of experience in dealing with Florida law, especially as it relates to domestic violence and the statutes that deal with the criminal offense. We know that the law, in this area in particular, can appear convoluted—that’s why we’ve taken the time here to explore s. 741.28 of the Florida State Statutes, the subsection that expounds upon some of the lesser-understood phrases used throughout chapter 741. En Español.
Elements of Domestic Violence
It is no surprise that the phrase “domestic violence” appears frequently in the chapter that deals with the crime of the same name. But what exactly does “domestic violence” mean? According to s. 741.28, “domestic violence” means “any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.”
In that explanation, though, there appears another complicated phrase, namely “family or household member,” a phrase that does not bring with it a definition as simple as one may think. “Family or household member” includes “spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married.” Additionally, as our experienced Broward County domestic violence attorneys know, with the one exception of individuals who have a child in common, the “family or household members” must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.
How a Lawyer Can Help
With our in-depth knowledge of both the language of the statutes and the manners in which the law is applied to relevant cases, our Broward County domestic violence attorneys fight to have the charges against our clients sealed and/or expunged from the record. We know, though, that charges cannot be sealed and/or expunged unless the charges are dismissed or dropped, and achieving that initial success is contingent upon our ability to understand the machination of the prosecution; because we are a partnership of former prosecutors, we know how to navigate these types of cases successfully so that we can yield the results that are in the best interests of our clients.
Often times, clients believe that if they possess a waiver of prosecution from an alleged victim, they cannot be prosecuted for the crime of domestic violence. Our experienced attorneys know that, while such waivers can be persuasive, they cannot and do not bind the prosecutor(s) or compel them to drop the case. Our lawyers also know, however, that the waivers can be used in order to favorably resolve the case if utilized properly; again, only an experienced, local Broward County domestic violence attorney, like one of the lawyers at Leifert & Leifert, will know how to use a waiver of prosecution in order to achieve the specific result that our client is looking for.
