Domestic Violence Lawyers in Youngstown

Youngstown Criminal Lawyer Sean Logue is here to defend you if you have been accused of domestic violence.

Domestic violence charges are stressful and almost always leave everyone involved with feelings of anger toward a family member or friend. Sean understands the stress you are under. He will do his best to alleviate that anger and anxiety by representing you to the court.

Crimes of Domestic Violence

When cops are sent to domestic violence calls, they almost always arrest at least one person. Regardless of any evidence or lack thereof, or the desires of an alleged victim that charges not be pressed, the person accused of domestic violence will be arrested and have to face court hearings and other stressors.

Nowadays, those accused of domestic violence face harsher consequences than they would have in the past. This is due to a desire to keep victims safe, but it also leads to long-term, life altering changes for the alleged offender.

The term “domestic violence” refers to a variety of actions and behaviors involving people who live together or in other ways form a family. The actions included in this definition include sexual attacks, verbal attacks, and physical attacks. Sometimes, alleged offenders are arrested for a single, one-off incident. At other times, the offender has had a history of such behaviors.

Domestic Violence Defined

In Ohio, there are three things that will get you arrested and charged with domestic violence.

1. If you recklessly cause someone in your family or household to be physically harmed;
2. If you knowingly attempt to cause or actually cause a household or family member to be harmed; or
3. If you make a family or household member believe you are going to cause them physical harm, by using the threat of force.

You must remember that you can be arrested for domestic violence even if you never touched the alleged victim.

Domestic Violence Types

There are several types of domestic violence charges. Some of the most common include child abuse or neglect, domestic assault/battery, rape, sexual battery, menacing by stalking, and violating a protection order.

Domestic Violence Defenses

You can’t just think, if you’ve been charged with domestic violence, that telling your side of the story will get your charges dropped. Too often, the version the alleged perpetrator tells differs from that of the alleged victim.

A Youngstown criminal lawyer with knowledge and experience will have a number of possible defenses in his toolbox, and may be able to convince the court to reduce or dismiss the charges against his client. Some of the most-used defenses in domestic violence cases are below. There are others that have not been included.

• False allegations – It’s not unusual for a soon-to-be ex-spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend to falsely accuse the alleged offender as a way to punish him or her or to get what the accuser wants in the civil (divorce/child support/child custody) case.
• Self-defense – People have the right to defend themselves even in domestic violence situations. Courts are more likely to dismiss cases where the domestic violence was caused by the actions of the alleged victim.
• Lack of evidence – If there’s no proof that domestic violence occurred, meaning no injuries or other evidence, the prosecutor won’t be able to convict the alleged offender.
• Accidental injury – This happens when an alleged victim is injured by his or her own negligence, or is injured due to other causes that are separate from the alleged offender.
• Defense of others – This is when the alleged offender did injure another family member, but it was done to protect someone else from harm.

Penalties for Domestic Violence

There are several factors that will come into play when a judge sentences a person for domestic violence. These factors include the severity of injuries, the type of victim, the offender’s criminal record, and the underlying charge.

Domestic violence convictions can range from minor misdemeanors to first degree felonies. All involve fines, which begin at $150 and can go as high as $20,000. All but minor misdemeanors come with jail time, which begins at 30 days and goes as long as 11 years.

Sean Logue is the criminal defense lawyer you want on your side when you’re accused of domestic violence. (330) 992-3036.