Protecting Yourself Against NC’s Domestic Violence Laws
Depending on the relationship between the accuser and alleged abuser, when a North Carolina court rules a case as domestic violence, the judge gains the ability to impose special punishments in the case.
In domestic violence cases, judges can add on punishments ranging from forbidding you to own pets or have children in the house, ban you from returning to your own home, to ordering you to be institutionalized or drugs, alcohol, or other necessary treatment. In addition, if you’re in the country as an immigrant, a domestic violence conviction could expedite your removal.
Enlisting a top attorney from the start of your case will help you avoid unnecessarily harsh punishments.
What Is Considered Domestic Violence In North Carolina?
Before you and your attorney can build your defense, it’s essential to understand what qualifies as domestic violence in North Carolina.
In North Carolina, the prosecutor will bring domestic violence charges if the people involved are:
- current or former spouses,
- Adults who live together or previously lived together,
- related as parent and child (including persons acting as a parent to a minor child) or as grandparents and grandchildren,
- parents of the same child,
- current or former household members, or
- People who are in or were in a dating relationship.
For the case to be deemed domestic violence, the alleged accuser must have:
- intentionally caused or attempted to cause bodily injury to the victim,
- put the victim or a member of the victim’s family or household in fear of imminent physical harm to the extent that the fear causes substantial emotional distress,
- committed certain sex-related crimes.
How Do I Defend Myself In A Domestic Violence Case?
Working with an attorney with vast experience navigating the North Carolina court system and representing clients in domestic violence cases will give you your best chance of winning a case.
Depending on the charge, your attorney can work to prove the alleged relationship does not meet the legal definition of domestic violence.
Your legal team will gather and review all the evidence in your case from 9-1-1 calls to police reports and ensure the police did not violate your rights in the process.
Your attorney may also use a defense that you were acting self-defense from the accuser.
If you’ve been accused of a domestic violence charge, contact Fay, Grafton & Nunez right away. We offer free consultations on criminal cases to help you understand the stakes in your case and how we could help.
