Domestic violence allegations are taken extremely serious and not just in Houston, TX, but in every other state. This is for good reason too. Being charged with domestic violence could have severe repercussions if one is convicted and the charges are usually much worse for those who allegedly commit abuse against their spouse, child, parent or significant other.
In case you have been accused of domestic violence, the first thing you need to realize is that you have rights and as such, have a right to a defense attorney. An expert defense attorney will come up with a defense strategy that will work in your favor to produce the best possible outcomes.
Explained below are five of the most common defenses used in domestic violence cases. Of course, you would need an experienced defense Texas attorney who will deliver one of the strategies without error.
1. Lack of proof
This is one of the strongest defense strategies and it’s easier to find holes in the vindication side or argument. If the prosecution cannot by any means meet the required burden of proof, a defendant is not likely to be convicted. This is the strategy a great attorney will provide you with because only an experienced expert will know exactly where to uncover holes or how to contradict the prosecutor.
2. Wrong suspect
If you can demonstrate that you simply can’t be the person who allegedly committed that crime, it would be a great defense. You could be able to prove this by having an alibi of being somewhere else during the crime of physical infraction. You would need to have witnesses that would testify that you were actually with them at that said time of the crime.
3. Intentional false accusations
In some cases, you find that defendants are wrongly accused of domestic violence for reasons that don’t even associate with violence. This mostly happens in divorce cases where a spouse may accuse the other of false allegations in order for them to gain complete custody of the kids or to collect a monetary reward. Your defense attorney will find inconsistencies in the opponent’s story and therein will lay your defense.
4. Self defense
While using this strategy, the defendant will need to provide proof that their actions were actually the only way of protecting themselves. For example, if another person was about to strike them and it was unavoidable, then the violent actions against that person were an act of protection.
However, if the defendant was the one who elicited the aggression to themselves, their violence would be very hard to prove as self-defense. For instance, if the defendant had issued verbal threats or called the other person appalling names that made them react with violence, it would not be self-defense since they are the ones that provoked the incident.
5. Consent
This can be used as a defense strategy but only if the defendant is able to prove that the other opponent consented to the violence. Some examples of these cases include mutual volunteering into a fight or having sadistic sexual practices. This though can be quite hard to prove if there is no witness to back up the claims of the violence being consensual.
Conclusion
Without a professional attorney, proving innocence in a domestic violence case is next to impossible. This means the first thing you need is to get professional help from a reputable attorney. With a competent lawyer, you will have a chance of at least of these defense strategies working in your favor.
