As defined by Virginia law, Virginia spousal abuse is a broad category that can encompass a number of charges in Virginia. The most common assault and battery charges are towards a family member. It can also include more serious things, such as unlawful wounding, malicious wounding, strangulation, and abduction.
A Virginia spousal abuse lawyer can advise you throughout your case if you are facing charges of abusing your significant other. An experienced spousal abuse lawyer has an understanding of local domestic violence laws that may apply to your case.
Domestic violence refers to any kind of violence in which the victim is considered to be a household or family member in relation to the defendant. Virginia spousal abuse is a type of domestic violence.
Domestic violence can include child abuse or violence between siblings. Virginia spousal abuse lawyers will refer specifically to violence where the defendant or the alleged perpetrator is the spouse of the alleged victim.
Spousal abuse can have serious consequences. Even the least serious, which are misdemeanors, can carry up to a year in jail. A Virginia spousal abuse lawyer has seen cases where the court has entered a protective order, which may cause a person to lose contact not only with their spouse or children but also possession of their home.
For the more serious forms of Virginia spousal abuse, which are felonies, an individual can potentially go to prison, have significant fines, and temporarily or permanently lose the ability to have contact with their spouse or children.
If a person has been accused of spousal abuse in Virginia, the person would not have a predictable process in front of them. Normally, the police are going to attempt to interview the person in an effort to get the person’s side of the story.
Thus, it is important to not to have any contact with the police or make any statements to them without getting the advice of a Virginia spousal abuse lawyer. Once a person has been charged with something, whether it is a misdemeanor or a felony, the case is going to begin in the juvenile and domestic court.
In the case of a misdemeanor, the juvenile and domestic relations court will be the trial court. In the case of a felony, the juvenile and domestic relations court will hold the preliminary hearing and trial will be in the circuit court.
If a person is charged with a crime involving spousal abuse, they are looking at something that has significant consequences in the short-term as well as the long-term run. Virginia spousal abuse lawyers can help the individual with the number of proactive things a person charged can be doing to assist in the case.
There are also a number of things that a person can do to seriously damage the case if the person proceeds without the advice of an attorney. It is critically important to get the counsel of someone who is experienced and who can help the person as soon as the person knows that they are under investigation or knows that they perceive the charge.
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