DOMESTIC BATTERY Recent Court Wins

Recent Court Wins

AGGRAVATED BATTERY ON A PREGNANT WOMAN 

State v. P; Judge: Nick Nazaretian

FACTS: Battery on a pregnant woman is a second degree felony punishable by maximum of 15 years in Florida State Prison. It is a level 7 offense that scores immediate prison for even a first time offender. This is another case that emphasizes the importance of retaining representation in criminal cases as soon as possible. The client was arrested after he had an argument with his girlfriend who had been pregnant for over 7 months. He became angry when he found out about a phone call that was made to his girlfriend's cell phone. The victim claimed that she was injured when he pushed her to the ground.

DEFENSE: The defendant admitted that there was an argument between the two of them, but he denied having any rolde in her injury. We argued at trial that the victim had slipped on clothes that were laying on the ground next to their bed.

RESULT: Our office addressed the felony charge with the State Attorney's Office the moment it was assigned to a prosecutor. The felony charge was reduced to domestic battery, and we tried the case in County Court. Ultimately, the Court found the client not guilty.

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State v. J; Domestic Battery; Witness Tampering; Date: February, 2008

FACTS: The client was charged with domestic battery and witness tampering by his sister.   An argument ensued after the victim's boyfriend tried to run over our client's father in a truck.  During the argument she claimed her brother attacked her.  His sister became very upset with him, and ultimtely tried to notify police of the incident.  While the victim was attempting to contact law enforcement the client ripped the phone out of the wall. 

DEFENSE: The victim was attempting to strike our client when he grabbed her.   The victim eventually admitted she had been drinking that night.  She also admitted that the defendant never prevented her from contacting the police.

RESULT: The witness tampering charge and the domestic battery charge were "no filed" (dismissed) by the State Attorney's Office.

State v. B.; Date: August 2, 2007

FACTS: The wife of our client had been unfaithful and ultimately told her husband about the affair. As you would expect an argument ensued and the client ended up pushing his wife. The victim received no real injuries.

DEFENSE: After investigation into the case it appeared that this was a "mutual combat" situation where the wife and the husband (client) began pushing each other almost simultaneously.

RESULT: The State terminated the prosecution of the case.

DOMESTIC BATTERY

 State v. S; Judge: Nick Nazaretian; Date: July 31, 2007

FACTS: The client got into a verbal argument with her husband over finances. Apparently, her husband went downstairs to avoid the argument, but his wife followed him and began hitting him in the face and chest area. The client then grabbed a knife and started slashing at her husband with it. The husband stated that his wife then tried to throw a pot of boiling water on him. Police arrived on scene and arrested our client (the wife), after speaking to her husband's brother about the incident.

DEFENSE: After investigating the victim's allegations it appeared that much of his story was exaggerated and contrived. He ultimately admitted that the contact between the two of them was accidental and unintentional.

RESULT: The State Dismissed the charge

State v. D; Judge: John Conrad; Date: May 10, 2007

FACTS: The client's daughter was approached by a young man who made a number of sexual inuendos during a conversation they had at work. Weeks later her father (client) visited her at work, and while they discussed the incident, the young man happened to walk nearby. The father was so angered by what happened he went outside and confronted the victim. Our client pushed the victim in the chest and then grabbed him by the throat.

DEFENSE: The remarks made to by the victim to our client's daughter were uncalled for and highly offensive on every level. The case was set for trial, and negotiations with the State followed.

RESULT: The State Dismissed the case.

CASE # 06-CM-024034; Judge: Nick Nazaretian; Date: February 13, 2007

FACTS: The defendant was accused of grabbing his wife by the neck and throat after an argument in their home.  According to the victim, he squeezed her neck so hard he was able to lift her off the ground.  There were photographs taken of the victim's injuries.

DEFENSE:  The victim was the aggressor and the defendant only grabbed her to avoid further violence.

RESULT:  This case was resolved before trial after interviewing the victim.   Our investigation led to a change in the victim's story and a dismissal of the charge. 

CASE #05-CM-015481; JUDGE: Nick Nazaretian; Date: November 21, 2006

FACTS: The defendant and his wife had a verbal argument outside his home.  The victim claimed that our client hit her in the face with a piece of pizza, grabbed her by the throat, and body slammed her to the ground.  Shortly after she caught her breath the neighbors helped her into their house.  Instead of calming down and remaining at her neighbor's home the victim continued to drink alcohol and returned to her husband's home.  She found herself locked out of the home, and when she finally got inside she continued to verbally attack our client.  The victim stood in the doorway of the bathroom and refused to allow her husband out.  He eventually grabbed her and removed her from the doorway.  The victim claimed that our client dragged her around the house by her hair, and bashed her head into the wall in the hallway. 

DEFENSE: The only time my client laid his hands on the victim is when she came at him and he had to grab her in order to protect himself.  In addition, the victim drank atleast six drinks containing alcohol that night which called her credibility into question.

RESULT:  The Judge found our client NOT GUILTY of the crime of domestic battery.

CASE #06-CM-023289; 06-DR-017814 & 06-DR-017444; JUDGE: Art Mcneil; Date: October 16, 2006

FACTS: The client was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife.   The wife became very intoxicated and came at him.  In an effort to protect himself he had to throw a cell phone at her.  After she left the room the client packed his clothes so he could leave the home.  Before he could finish packing the wife came back into the room and punched him in the face.  His injuries were so severe the hospital did a CT scan and a retinal detachment evaluation.   The client was smart enough to get photographs of his injuries taken at the hospital.  Unfortunately, he failed to retain any counsel and attempted to address the custody issues surrounding his son in his own way.  The wife felt so threatened that she called the police and the client was arrested days later for domestic battery.  Shortly after that she retained a lawyer and filed a petition for a domestic violence injunction against our client.   After the client retained our office we filed our own petition for an injunction against the wife, and began defending his criminal charge.        

      Unfortunately, many people file criminal charges against their husband or wife in an attempt to gain an advantage in their divorce proceedings.  The hope is that the person charged with the crime will be convicted and the family law judge will give custody of the children to the non-offending party.  After the wife received our injunction her attorney called our office and we negotiated a settlement of the domestic violence injunctions and the criminal charge. 

DEFENSE:  The client was acting in self-defense when he threw the phone at his wife.  The wife had a drinking problem and caused some noticeable injuries to the client during the struggle.

RESULT:  The domestic violence injunctions were both dismissed and the State Attorney "no filed" the battery charge.

Case No: 06-CM-013167; Judge Nick Nazaretian; Date: September 26, 2006

FACTS: The defendant was alleged to have beaten his girlfriend with a closed fist.  The victim's left arm and her left eye were bruised.  Law enforcement took photographs of the victim's injuries.

DEFENSE: The victim left my client with no choice but to defend himself.  She had shoved the defendant several times before he physically responded in any way. 

RESULT:  The State dropped the charges.  

CASE #06-CM-018218; 06-CM-017499; Judge Nick Nazaretian;Date: August 8, 2006

FACTS:  The defendant was charged with committing two batteries in a span of nine (9) days.   The victim was a serious alcoholic who had been to alcohol detox shortly before the defendant was arrested.  She had numerous bruises all over her body.

DEFENSE:  The victim’s alcoholism brought on a blood disease (ecchymoses) that caused her blood to leak into her skin whenever she fell down or bumped into an object.  The victim’s injuries were the result of injuries she received while intoxicated.

RESULT:  After depositions with the victim the State agreed to drop one battery charge in exchange for a plea of No Contest to the other charge.  The State agreed to withhold the adjudication and the defendant was not convicted.

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CASE #06-CM-006304; Judge Nick Nazaretian; Date: July 26, 2006

FACTS:  The defendant was alleged to have punched his wife to the ground several times after becoming intoxicated.

DEFENSE:  The defendant never touched the victim which was evident through the physical evidence (pictures) recovered by the law enforcement officer.

RESULT:  The State dropped the charge.

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CASE #05-CM-026995; Judge Nick Nazaretian; Date: March 7, 2006

FACTS:  The defendant was alleged to have punched his girlfriend in the face, dragged her to the ground and choked her. 

DEFENSE:  The victim eventually came forward and admitted she initiated the aggression against the defendant.

RESULT:  After discussions with the State Attorney the domestic battery charge was dropped.

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CASE #05-CF-015916 & 05-CM-025510; Judge Nick Nazaretian; Date:  January 17, 2006

FACTS:  The Defendant in this case was initially charged with False Imprisonment (3rd degree felony) and domestic battery.   After the defendant retained us we immediately contacted the State Attorney’s Office before formal charges were filed.   The State Attorney agreed to drop the false imprisonment charge and filed only the misdemeanor battery charge.  

DEFENSE:  Shortly after the charge was filed in county (misdemeanor) court we pursued our client’s defenses with the State Attorney on the domestic battery charge.  We were able to show the State Attorney the problems with the victim’s testimony.

RESULT:  The State Attorney also dropped the domestic battery charge.

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CASE #05-CF-020778 & #05-CM-030321; Judge Nick Nazaretian; Date: January 10, 2006

FACTS:  The Defendant was initially charged with Aggravated Battery on a Pregnant Woman (2nd degree felony).   After the defendant retained us we immediately began discussions with the State Attorney’s Office before formal charges were filed.   The State Attorney agreed to reduce the Aggravated Battery charge to simple battery and file it in County (misdemeanor) court.

DEFENSE:  After the defendant’s charges were reduced we pursued the State Attorney about the victim’s allegations in county court in an effort to get that charge dropped.

RESULT:  The State Attorney agreed to drop the misdemeanor battery charge.

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