Manhattan Domestic Violence Lawyers
In Manhattan, if you are a victim of domestic violence, you have the right to bring this before the court. The criminal courts work with the family courts in New York for these types of cases to make sure that everyone is protected and allows victims to bring criminal charges as well as civil charges before the judge. The reason they work together is that, unfortunately, many times in cases of civil issues, there is also a crime committed where one person harms another. The end goal of both of these avenues is to provide people with protection from domestic violence.
What Is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is an intentional act to harm another individual and can come in a variety of different forms. Several examples include sexual assault, physical abuse, or other ways to lord power over another person which extends to emotional abuse as well. Domestic abuse is one of the most popular cases seen in a courtroom, but just about every case is different in nature. The one thing that is the same in all of these cases, however, is that one person in an intimate relationship is abusing another person for personal gain. Sometimes the abuser is seeking financial gain by keeping the other person from spending money or even, in some cases, stealing money from their spouse. All of these situations are highly sticky and very difficult to navigate because of the invested emotions in a relationship.
What Is Considered A Relationship In New York?
For domestic violence to be committed, there has to be an actual relationship that is being affected. To be considered in a relationship, it requires two individuals who are related by marriage or by blood and sometimes extends to be two individuals who are intimately involved with one another. This can be between people who live together, but you do not have to be at the same residence for domestic violence to be committed. Domestic violence extends to current or previous spouses, people who are co-parenting children, boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. The important thing to remember is that you do not have to live at the same location to have a case of domestic violence on your hands and taken before a judge.
What Are The Penalties For Domestic Violence?
In New York, you can be looking at some pretty severe punishments if you are guilty of committing domestic abuse. The fines are upwards of $5,000 or a 25-year sentence to prison. If you are guilty of strangling your significant other, you can be thrown into prison for 15 years and have to pay the same fee of $5,000 in fines. If you are guilty of obstruction of breathing to another individual in the realm of domestic violence, they will have to serve time in jail as well as pay a fine.
How Are Victims Protected In The Future?
When people who commit domestic violence are convicted of this heinous crime, the person on the other end feels a sense of joy and satisfaction that justice was served and that the monster who abused them is going to be locked up for a period of time. Something people might not think about is how they will stay safe from this happening in the future when that person has served their time in jail.
When this happens, you can get an order of protection by going through a process of answering questions from the judge. If the judge deems it necessary for you to have this order of protection, they will issue one for you. The order of protection will protect you or your children from the convicted person at home, their workplace, school, or other public location. This order of protection will keep the criminal from committing further crimes against the family affected by the domestic violence crime in the first place.
Who Can Help Me Through This Situation?
If you find yourself in a domestic violence situation, you can hire a Manhattan Domestic Violence Lawyer to help you through the case and get an order of protection. By filing a domestic abuse lawsuit, they can help you get reimbursement for medical expenses associated with the crime, as well as compensation for other financial losses. In the event of needing a divorce, your Domestic Violence Lawyer can help you file for a divorce and help you through the process. If children are involved in the situation, they can help you end with custody of the kids so you know they are in a safe and healthy environment.
If you are falsely accused of domestic violence, an attorney can help you navigate the process as they are educated in how to gather the proper information to take before the judge.
Domestic violence can be a broad category of different laws because it’s more of an umbrella term to cover a variety of crimes. Some of those crimes include stalking, rape, assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. If you have been charged with one of these crimes, you should hire a competent and experienced attorney as soon as possible. In a domestic violence case, it happens between two people who have a romantic relationship or live under the same house. When violence occurs, it falls under the category of domestic abuse.
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What’s the Punishment for Domestic Violence?
The punishment will largely depend on the type of domestic abuse that has taken place. For example, an assault charge will usually mean that a person faces a penalty of up to seven years in prison for a class B felony. A first-degree domestic assault charge will be anywhere from five to 25 years in prison. It largely depends on the extent of the damage to the other person, and if the crime had happened before in the past.
For anyone accused of domestic assault, they could be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. The District Attorney will consider a variety of factors, and they will decide how to proceed with charging you. Regardless of how you get charged, the consequences will almost always be serious. In general, you can expect an average sentence of between three to four years of probation. You might also have to attend a 52-week batterer treatment program. In addition, you could have around 30 days in jail, and you’d face some community service.
Different Degrees of Assault
The penalties for assault will range depending on the degree. In New York, you have first-degree, second-degree and third-degree assault. First-degree assault happens when the aggressor attempts to cause serious bodily harm, or he does cause serious injury to the victim. Finally, it happens if the aggressor attacks the person with a deadly weapon. Second-degree assault, on the other hand, will have some of the same elements as what you have with first-degree assault. However, the aggressor will either act recklessly or he will cause injury, but it’s not as serious of an injury. In second-degree assault, the attacker doesn’t use a deadly weapon. With third-degree assault, you have a lot of the same things that you’d have with first degree. However, the injury isn’t as serious.
What are the Other Charges of Domestic Violence?
Some of the other charges of domestic violence don’t involve physical injury. Nevertheless, you have the threat of physical injury. For example, the aggressor stalks the victim or acts menacing toward them. This will normally occur whenever an aggressor has repeatedly and intentionally tried to harass someone else. They might, for example, follow the person into public areas. They might also have a reasonable reason to feel fear of a physical injury because perhaps the aggressor has attacked them in the past.
The Unseen Consequences
Someone who has been charged with domestic violence will have a variety of unforeseen consequences. For example, domestic violence will go on the permanent record, and it could affect state licensing, employment and other benefits you want to receive. In addition, let’s say you were divorcing your husband or wife. If you have a prospective divorce court case that involves child custody, it will almost always be looked on negatively if you were accused of domestic violence. It could have a huge negative impact on your rights over who sees the child.
If you’re having trouble with a domestic violence case, perhaps we can help. We are Spodek Law Group, and we can help you to win in your domestic abuse case. We have an insider’s knowledge of how to handle these cases, and you can have the charge dismissed or lowered when you have the right lawyer to fight for you. How the lawyer presents the evidence for your case will have a major impact on whether the ruling is favorable or not. Another danger of being the accused of domestic violence is how you can be punished numerous times in a couple different courts. You don’t want an unfavorable judgment and Spodek Law Group has the ability to help you take advantage of what’s available to you.
Manhattan Domestic Violence and Assault Lawyers
When domestic violence is discussed, most people immediately think about husbands or male partners assaulting wives or female partners. In truth, domestic violence is a broader category that covers situations involving child abuse to situations involving elder abuse. Additionally, there are many forms that the abuse can take and, when law enforcement becomes involved, they often find that sexual abuse plays a part in the incidences. There may also be physical abuse, emotional abuse, and even financial abuse.
Physical Abuse
Essentially, physical abuse involves taking actions to make another individual fear for his or her physical safety. In terms of domestic violence, anyone can perpetrate physical abuse on anyone else. Parents, siblings, spouses, and even cousins may be involved as either the perpetrator or the victim of physical abuse. Common acts include slapping, punching, and kicking, but driving recklessly with another in the vehicle or invading someone else’s physical space can also be considered physical abuse.
Sexual Abuse
As previously mentioned, sexual abuse plays a part in many domestic violence situations. Although it’s most common between romantic partners, it can be perpetuated against a child, a sibling, or an elder relative as well. In addition to rape and similar forms of sexual assault, this can also consist of using sex as a tool by withholding it from a partner. However, sexual assault is seen most often and involves the penetration of the vagina and rectum, but also includes fondling, oral sex, and other acts commonly deemed sexual in nature. A person may be said to be a victim of sexual assault or abuse, if they are below the age of consent (18 in most areas) or if they did not give consent.
Where sexual abuse is concerned, the perpetrator can often be charged with crimes, once law enforcement becomes involved. For instance, first degree sexual abuse is a class D felony, which carries a maximum seven year prison term. There are several classifications for the crime of rape, as well. The least severe distinction is third degree rape and a conviction of this charge carries a four year term of imprisonment.
There are some sex crimes that are considered especially heinous and, as such, carry heavier punishments. Aggravated sexual abuse involves forcibly inserting a foreign object into the bodily orifice (vagina, rectum, urethra) of the victim. If convicted of this class B felony, you may be given a prison term of up to 25 years.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse might be more frequently reported, if more people recognized the signs that it was happening to them. This involves repetitive criticism and insults intended to lower one’s self-esteem. Commonly, a person’s looks or eating habits are criticized, though they may also be ridiculed for their sexual performance, as well as other personal attacks. As difficult as it is to identify, emotional abuse is even more challenging to prove in court. Victims of emotional abuse often become involved in years of therapy, before they can ever truly recover.
Financial Abuse
This can occur between any family members, but it most often occurs between an adult child and an elder parent. Finances are used to maintain power and control over the other individual, so this is seen where one individual handles the money for the household. They may withhold an allowance or deny access to finances through other means. Additionally, the abuser may withdraw funds from the victim’s accounts for their own purposes without the victim’s knowledge or permission. In romantic relationships, financial abuse is used to keep the victim from leaving the situation, because they no longer have the financial means to act independently.
Protection Orders Can Help the Victim
If you are the victim of domestic abuse or assault in any form, a lawyer may be able to help you obtain an order of protection. More commonly known as a restraining order, this is a court order that makes it illegal for the perpetrator to approach you. The order will designate how much of a distance the individual must keep from you, your home, or your place of employment.
Initially, a protection order is an immediate response to an emergency situation to separate the victim and the abuser. Once the case goes to court, the judge may establish a longer term for the order. In this situation, the defendant will be offered an opportunity to give his or her side of the story. Once the hearing is over, the judge will make a determination.