Defending Domestic Violence Charges in Lexington

In many cases, a domestic violence case is a “he said/she said” situation where credibility is one of the biggest issues. One of the most used defenses in a domestic violence case is self-defense, where one side is the primary aggressor who initiated the physical assault, and the accused was merely defending themselves, yet were ultimately arrested.

In addition to self-defense, another commonly used defense is defense of others. This occurs in situations where a family member is being attacked by a different family member, and they step in to protect and defend the other person. Often in these situations, a person could get wrongfully accused and arrested for domestic violence as well.

Since credibility is key in these types of cases, the base level defense is discrediting the witness statements that are providing the accusations. A criminal defense lawyer must conduct a thorough investigation to prove the inconsistencies by the alleged victim to law enforcement.

A seasoned attorney will know what it takes to defend domestic violence charges in Lexington. You should seek help from an attorney who has a significant amount of experience in defending this type of case because they are going to know how to conduct the full investigation, how to identify the key issues and potential defenses, and how to best build the best defense possible. Speak to an experienced domestic violence lawyer to discuss your case and legal options.

What Constitutes Self-Defense in Domestic Violence Cases?

Self-defense does not change because it is domestic violence. It occurs when a reasonable person would believe that they are at risk of bodily harm at that moment.

If a person made threats about throwing a punch, they could not shoot the person, that is not a reasonable threat of using deadly force, but they would be able to use equal force.

Self-defense is a situation where a reasonable person would have believed that there was a reasonable threat of harm posed by the other person, and they took a reasonable force necessary to defend themselves from violence.

The key for a domestic violence case is that a person’s household member falls under the definition that is necessary to trigger domestic violence statute. A household member can be a spouse, former spouse, someone who might have cohabitated or have a child together.

What Is Defense of Others?

Defense of others is like self-defense except that the reasonable fear was for another person who would have been injured or was in the process of being injured or assaulted and they were stepping in to defend them. It is like self-defense except they are not in immediate danger of being assaulted, it was another person.

Schedule a Consultation with a Local Domestic Violence Attorney today.

There are numerous benefits to using a local lawyer. This includes knowing the players involved, police, prosecutor, judges know the customs of the courtroom, knows the ins and outs, and knows the tactics used by the police and prosecutors to try to gain a conviction.

It is critical to know which judges are harsher in sentencing on domestic violence cases and which ones are more lenient, or at least more open to hearing mitigation evidence versus others and which ones are more likely to impose a jail sentence. Having a lawyer with that kind of inside knowledge is the one that they need when they also combine their experience, training, results, awards, and recognitions that they receive in the legal community.

Speak to a knowledgeable domestic violence attorney to learn more about defending domestic violence charges in Lexington.