Home ought to be the safest place for everyone. There are times, however, when home becomes the last place you want to be found at. The primary reason for this is domestic violence. There are different forms of domestic violence, including emotional, physical, and financial abuse.
These forms of abuse mostly affect children and intimate partners. There have been significant legal strides for the protection of people from domestic violence, but unfortunately, intimate partner violence is still prevalent.
Most clients seen by a divorce attorney in Colorado Springs are facing a disadvantage in their case with domestic violence charges. This is because a few spouses take advantage of the law against domestic violence to falsely accuse their spouses when divorcing.
This way, they gain the upper hand when judges are determining child custody, alimony, and other elements of their separation. The following are some defenses a divorce lawyer might employ to get you an acquittal for domestic violence.
Self-Defense
This is one of the highly effective defenses in domestic violence cases. If you believe you or your kids are in reasonable harm from the plaintiff, it is only natural to defend yourself and the kids. The plaintiff might use the evidence of the injuries he/she sustained as proof of your violence.
You should have sufficient basis for believing you or the kids were at risk of grave harm and thus acted in defense. For the defense to apply, you should also not have been the initial aggressor and acted in proportion to the harm.
Lack of Proof
The plaintiff should have sufficient evidence that you were violent and intended to harm them. Your lawyer can use the absence of the plaintiff’s adequate proof as to your defense.
Every state has a required burden of a proof threshold for domestic violence cases. If the plaintiff’s evidence does not meet this threshold, the case can be dismissed.
Wrong Suspect
People have gotten injured elsewhere and tried pinning it on someone else. You can attest that you are not to blame for the plaintiff’s injuries by providing an alibi showing you were nowhere near the scene. Medical reports on the existence of prior injuries or the causative agents of various injuries can also invalidate some of the accusations labeled against you.
Consent
This is a rare defense but applies in some intimate partner domestic violence cases. There are times when your partner consents to some form of violence in specific situations then turn around and accuse you of harming them intentionally.
Unfortunately, this defense is challenging proving in court, and there is only so much violence someone can consent to irrespective of the situation.
A domestic violence charge has seen many exes lose their child’s custody and alimony when they divorce. It is thus not a charge you can afford to take at face value and wish away.
Your spouse might be reasonable and agree to an amicable divorce and thus lead you to forego a lawyer’s services for your divorce. This is a mistake since they might introduce a domestic violence charge when the divorce proceedings are ongoing. Get a lawyer from the get-go to handle the above defenses in case they affect your divorce.