Sometimes domestic violence charges are brought against someone due to a situation that escalated out of control, the person was intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance, or even to gain an advantage in divorce or child custody proceedings.
Beware that any charge of domestic violence battery in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, constitutes a serious crime of violence. A conviction will result in the loss of certain civil rights including a lifetime ban on the right to possess a firearm. Even if the court "withheld adjudication" you can never seal an arrest record related to any domestic violence charge, even a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.
Florida law provides for an expanding list of crimes considered acts of domestic violence when committed against individuals with a "domestic" connection. These crimes including the following:
Tallahassee Domestic Violence Defense Attorney
Although seeking out information on the internet is an important start to finding general information, absolutely no substitute exists for speaking directly with a Tallahassee criminal defense lawyer to obtain advice based on your facts and circumstances. You may need to act quickly to preserve certain evidence and protect your rights. Protect your rights and your family by hiring an experienced attorney.
Attorney Don Pumphrey, Jr. fights charges of domestic violence throughout Tallahassee in Leon County, FL, and the surrounding areas of North Florida including Monticello in Jefferson County, Crawfordville in Wakulla County, Quincy in Gadsden County, and Bristol in Liberty County, Florida. Contact Don Pumphrey, Jr. for a consultation today about your domestic violence charge.
Domestic Violence Information Center
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Domestic Violence Terms in Florida
- Cyberstalking – This term means to communicate with a specific person through electronic mail that causes substantial emotional distress to a person, and the communication serves no legitimate purpose.
- Dating Violence – Dating violence is defined as violence between two people who have or have had a continuing and significant romantic or intimate relationship. The relationship must have existed within the past six months, there must have been some kind of affection or sexual involvement between the parties, and the interaction between the parties was for a continuous period of time. This type of violence does not include casual relationships or violence between those in business or social contexts.
- Domestic Violence – This term is defined as any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment or any other offense that results in injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.
- Domestic Violence Injunction – A domestic violence injunction is an order prohibiting someone from doing something, or requiring someone to do something. This type of injunction is also known as a protective order or restraining order.
- Family or Household Member – A family or household member is a spouse, former spouse, person related by blood or marriage, persons who had a child together, or a person who resides with another as a family member or has resided in the past.
- Harass - This term means to direct certain conduct to a specified person that causes that person severe emotional distress and the conduct serves no legitimate purpose.
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Common Domestic Violence Charges
Assault - Fla.Stat. § 784.011 defines assault as the intentional act of violence, or threat to cause violence, to someone else, and an apparent ability to do so that causes fear in the other person that the act is imminent. This offense is punishable as a misdemeanor of the second degree.
Aggravated Assault – According to Fla.Stat. § 784.021, this type of assault involves a deadly weapon, or an intent to commit a felony. This offense, if convicted, is a felony of the third degree.
Battery – Under Fla.Stat. § 784.03, this act is defined as actually and intentionally touching another person against their will, or intentionally causing harm to another person. This act is punishable as a misdemeanor of the first degree, or if someone has a prior conviction, as a felony of the third degree.
Felony Battery – Fla. Stat. § 784.041 defines this act as actually intentionally touching another person against their will, and causing great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement. This offense is punishable as a felony of the third degree.
Domestic Battery By Strangulation – This act is defined in Fla.Stat. § 784.041(2)(a) as knowingly and intentionally impeding the normal breathing or circulation of a family or household member or a person in dating relationship, against that person’s will, and by doing so creates a risk of great bodily harm. This act is punishable as a felony of the third degree.
Aggravated Battery – Under Fla. Stat. § 784.045, this act is a battery with the use if a deadly weapon that intentionally or knowingly causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to another, or is a battery upon a pregnant woman that the offender knew or should have known was pregnant. This offense, if convicted, is a felony of the second degree.
Stalking – This offense is defined under Fla. Stat. § 784.048 as the willful, malicious repeated following harassing or cyberstalking of another person, which if convicted, is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Aggravated Stalking – According to Fla.Stat. § 784.048(3), a person commits this offense if they willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follow another person against their will, and makes a threat against that person to put them in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury. This offense is a felony of the third degree.
Violation of Domestic Violence Injunction – Willful violations of a domestic violence injunction under Fla. Stat. § 741.31 (4)(a) can include refusing to vacate the shared home; going to the petitioner’s work, school, or residence; committing an act of domestic violence against the petitioner; contacting the petitioner; coming within a certain distance of the petitioner’s vehicle, or destroying the petitioner’s personal property. Any such violation is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Violation of Repeat Violence, Sexual Violence, or Dating Violence Injunction – Any willful violation of these types of injunctions is punishable as a misdemeanor of the first degree according to Fla.Stat. § 784.047.
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Domestic Violence Penalties in Florida
- Any domestic violence charge that is a misdemeanor of the second degree can lead to 60 days in Florida jail, and/or incur fines up to $500.
- Misdemeanor of the first degree domestic violence charges can include imprisonment in jail for up to one year and/or fines up to $1,000.
- Domestic violence charges that are classified as felonies of the third degree can incur prison time up to five years and/or fines up to $5,000.
- A domestic violence conviction of a felony of the second degree can lead to prison time up to 15 years and/or fines up to $10,000.
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Resources
The Leon County Sheriff’s Office Victim Advocate Unit – This web site has information for victims of domestic violence in Leon County, Florida. The Leon County Sheriff's Office established the Victim Advocate Unit in 1995 to provide services and assistance to victims of domestic violence.
Refuge House, Inc. is a an emergency shelter that provides services to the victims of domestic violence and their children throughout Leon County, and the surrounding areas of Franklin County, Liberty County, Gadsden County, Jefferson County, Wakulla County, Madison County and Taylor County, Florida. The web site also provides educational information on domestic violence including stories, outreach programs, children's programs, rape crisis programs, courthouse programs, safety tips, news and more. The mailing address and 24-hour crisis phone line are:
The Refuge House, Inc.
P.O. Box 20910
Tallahassee, Florida 32316
Phone: (850) 681-2111
Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence – FCADV desires to create a violence-free world, and provides leadership, education, training, technical assistance, advocacy and support to domestic violence center programs.
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The Law Offices of Don Pumphrey, Jr. | Tallahassee Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer
If you were convicted of a domestic violence charge in the Florida Panhandle, including Leon County, Gadsden County, Wakulla County, and surrounding counties, contact an experienced Tallahassee criminal attorney at The Law Offices of Don Pumphrey, Jr. to discuss the facts of your particular case and possible defenses to your charge. It is important to hire an experienced attorney to achieve the best possible outcome in your case and help you avoid serious punishments.
Lawyer Don Pumphrey, Jr. has experience representing those accused of domestic violence, and will aggressively fight your charge. Contact Don Pumphrey, Jr. at (850) 681-7777 for a consultation about your domestic violence charge.