Salt Lake City Domestic Violence Defense Attorney

Supportive Salt Lake City, UT Defense Attorney for Clients Accused of Domestic Violence

An allegation of domestic violence can ruin your reputation in your local community, and a conviction can hamper your job opportunities in the future. If you have been arrested for domestic violence, do not assume that the case against you has already been decided. With the legal assistance of a Salt Lake City criminal defense attorney, you can contest the charges in a court of law.

At Salt City Defense, we represent people who stand accused of domestic violence against their partners or other members of their household. As an exceptional trial lawyer with over a decade of experience, Attorney Cliff Venable has the skills and legal knowledge to effectively represent clients in front of a judge.

Understanding Domestic Violence in Utah

In Utah, "domestic violence" does not refer to any single criminal offense. Rather, it encompasses a broad range of crimes in which the aggressor and the victim are housemates, partners in a sexual relationship, related by blood, married or were formerly married, or parents of shared children. Crimes of domestic violence include, but are not limited to:

• Assault
• Certain sexual offenses
• Harassment, including electronic communication harassment
• Kidnapping
• Stalking
• Child abuse
• Homicide

If you are convicted of a crime involving domestic violence, it could have a long-lasting impact on your future aside from the immediate criminal penalties. A conviction of a second domestic violence offense will result in the charge being upgraded by one level, such as a class A misdemeanor to a third-degree felony.

Additionally, a conviction of a domestic violence charge could result in a protective order being filed against you, which can restrict you from owning a gun. At Salt City Defense, we can help you fight a domestic violence charge to potentially avoid the problematic consequences of a conviction.

Domestic Assault

Many domestic violence cases involve assault charges, a crime defined as intentionally injuring someone else, attempting to cause them injury, or putting them at risk of serious bodily harm.

Simple assault is normally charged as a class B misdemeanor, punishable by no more than six months of incarceration. However, assaulting someone that you know to be pregnant is a class A misdemeanor, which carries up to 364 days in jail. The same penalty is applied to any act of assault that results in substantial injury. Felony charges of aggravated assault may apply if a dangerous weapon was brandished or if the victim was strangled.

Disputing an assault charge requires an involved defense. At Salt City Defense, we can assert that you were acting in self-defense. In other cases, the accusation may have been wholly falsified and can be challenged in court with a strong alibi or by citing a lack of evidence.

Stalking

Even if the crime does not involve the use of physical force, stalking can still be labeled as domestic violence. You can be charged with stalking for engaging in conduct that puts the victim in emotional distress, or conduct that puts them in fear for their own safety or someone else's. To qualify as stalking, the conduct must be intentional, repeated, and something that a reasonable person would consider distressing or threatening.

On a first offense, stalking is a class A misdemeanor, but it can be upgraded to a felony on subsequent convictions. Our criminal defense lawyer can explore different strategies to contest a stalking charge, such as questioning whether the conduct took place more than once, or if it reasonably qualified as stalking.

Meet With a Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer in Salt Lake City, Utah

The label of domestic abuser is not easy to shake. At Salt City Defense, we will put up a strong defense on your behalf, making sure that you are fairly represented in court. Call our offices at 919-744-6471 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today.