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Home > Articles: Domestic Violence as a Crime
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Is Domestic Violence Considered a Crime?
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Lawyers are often confronted with the question of whether or not domestic violence is considered a crime. Domestic violence can include an array of acts such as physical abuse, threats of physical abuse, emotional abuse, threatening telephone calls, disturbances at ones workplace, and stalking. Domestic violence can cover any form of physical or emotional dominance and control over a closely related person, whether it is your spouse, husband, wife or any other relative. To determine whether domestic violence is punishable under criminal law will likely depend on the type of violence that occurred and the specific circumstances in which the act or acts took place. Of course, repeated acts of physical abuse will likely not be punished the same way as disturbances.
Further, there are no common national laws regarding domestic violence matters in the U.S. Each State has its own laws to handle cases of domestic violence and disturbances.
Therefore, the same case and facts thereto would likely be judged differently from one state to another. However, most states consider domestic violence to be both a crime and a civil offense. Therefore, the offender of domestic violence may be subject to both criminal punishment such as being sentenced to time in jail and a civil punishment such as money damages.
Some states may consider domestic violence to be a crime against the community, and as a consequence, any domestic violence case can be prosecuted by the city or the district attorney. This could take place even when the charges were not brought by the abused person and without his/her assistance. Often times, and in the most famous domestic violence cases, the abused person will run away from the family residence, contact the police, press charges, and then try to have the charges dropped because he/she managed to reconcile with the abuser.
In order to prevent such patterns from being repeated, many local communities and states will enforce a more severe legal system regarding domestic violence matters. Whether it is a first complaint or not, charges were pressed or not, domestic violence cases can be brought to justice. Many local communities or states are attempting to inform and warn the public that domestic violence will not be tolerated by local authorities. If you want to know more about your local legal system, you can get some useful information with your local bar association or by consulting a domestic violence lawyer in your jurisdiction.
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Domestic Violence Article: Is Domestic Violence Considered a Crime? This article explores ideas related to domestic violence as a crime.
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