Domestic Violence Laws in Georgia
Domestic violence is a term attributed to abuse, violence or neglect between two or more intimately associated individuals staying in the same house. More colloquially, the term domestic violence is used for physical violence between a woman and a man, who may be married or in a relationship. The term can be made to broader by including physical violence between members of a family, roommates etc.
Typical domestic violence indicates:
Physical assault
Harassment
Reckless endangerment
Child abuse
Stalking
Trying to stop the victim from contacting emergency services.
Domestic violence is a serious crime and those charged with it are in for a lot of trouble. Domestic violence can be handled well by professionals practicing in the legal field pertaining to this crime. The main problem with the domestic violence is that the seriousness of the act is lost on the assailant. Victims always take longer to come forward and contact emergency services. Hence lot of experience is needed in order to bring out the entire crime in the open and provide aggressive legal representation.
Domestic violence laws are under the jurisdiction of the state. Penalties depend on severity of crime as well as history of domestic violence or other violent crimes.
Possible penalties that are levied on domestic violence criminals are:
Anger management programs as ordered by court.
Attending Batterer’s Intervention Programs.
Performing community service for specified number of hours.
Being fined.
Imprisonment.
Protective order or restraining order so that contact with children is prevented.
Depending on the severity of the incident and seriousness of injury caused as well as involvement of children, the judge can serve a sentence inclusive of fine, imprisonment, counseling etc. The judge bases his decision on background of the incident inclusive of pattern of behavior, history if violence etc and convicts the assailant. The victim in a domestic violence case cannot drop charges at a later stage hence, hiring a criminal defense attorney for legal counsel is vital for safety and continuity of life. In Georgia, a fine ranging up to $5000 and a jail sentence from 5 to 50 years can be decided for a domestic violence crime. Moreover, the accused might have to leave home, pay for spousal support as well as lose custody of children.
A Georgia domestic violence defense lawyer would be able to work in tandem with the district attorney and judge so that the charges could be dropped if they were not true. Moreover an attorney by your side would greatly help in allowing you to testify and let your side of story be heard and proper justice be done.