Articles Posted in Los Angeles defense attorney

pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3760069-300x200Being accused or convicted of domestic violence can have serious consequences, not only on your personal life but also your professional life. A domestic violence conviction can make it difficult to find and secure a job for anyone looking for employment in California. Even if you’re sentenced to probation in lieu of jail time, not only will employers often not hire someone with a criminal history, but in some cases, an employer has the right to fire you over a domestic violence conviction, especially if it reflects on the nature of the type of job you hold. 

The good news is that being accused of domestic violence does not automatically make you unemployable. You have some rights and options, although you may have to jump through a few more hoops to become gainfully employed. Let’s take a closer look at how domestic violence can impact your job prospects in California and what you can do about it.

An Overview of How Domestic Violence Impacts Employment

divorce-300x200It can feel like being thrown out of the frying pan into the fire. You’re suffering through a particularly messy and contentious divorce, when one day, there’s a knock on your door, and the police are holding a warrant for your arrest on allegations of domestic violence or child abuse. Suddenly, a complex situation has become even more complicated because while you’re fighting for your rights on the custody and property fronts on one side, you’re now facing possible criminal charges and jail time on the other. Not to mention a domestic violence arrest and/or conviction can have a negative impact on your divorce settlement and even your parental rights. What can you do to protect your rights? How should you respond?

There are no easy answers here, especially considering that the laws in California are particularly designed to protect the victims more than they are the defendants. But let’s discuss some of the ramifications of what can happen if you’re accused of domestic violence in the midst of a divorce process, and the best way to respond in that situation.

Why Domestic Violence Accusations May Arise During a Divorce

pexels-cottonbro-3944454-300x200In California, which has some of the most stringent domestic violence laws in the country, simply being accused of domestic violence can be incredibly disruptive and stress-inducing. But when those allegations become “news,” whether in the press or through social media, the situation can be exponentially more complicated. Now, on top of facing the hassles of a protective order, possibly being forced from your home, and possible criminal charges, you’re also being tried in the so-called “court of public opinion,” which often considers a person guilty until proven innocent. Let’s talk about some of the ways your domestic violence case could find its way into the public dialogue and what additional challenges you might face as a result.

Ways Your Domestic Violence Allegations Could Become Public

In many cases, family disputes that devolve into accusations of domestic violence happen within the privacy of people’s homes. But the fact remains that in our society, nothing really happens in a vacuum–and many times, people accused of it are surprised to find out how many people know about it. Some ways that your domestic violence case could become a public matter include:

Domestic-Violence-Charges-210x300It’s a scenario that can be both surprising and shocking. You have a verbal disagreement with your spouse or domestic partner (as most couples do). Emotions get heated, and you say some things you shouldn’t have said—and maybe didn’t mean. Someone observes the argument and calls the cops—or maybe your partner makes the call herself. A short time later, you get a visit from the police and find yourself arrested on charges of domestic violence or accused of making criminal threats—even though you never physically touched your spouse!

How could this happen? Could you actually be convicted of domestic violence under these circumstances? Theoretically, you could—especially if your heated exchange included verbal threats. Let’s talk about how California law views emotional abuse as part of domestic violence and when heated words might cross the line into a criminal act.

Emotional Abuse and Domestic Violence

Los-Angeles-domestic-violence-attorney-300x200Given both the increase and the heightened awareness of domestic violence cases since the 2020s began, it’s important once in a while to look at the news stories talking about domestic violence to see both what we can learn and how we can improve the situation for families at risk. We’re reviewing news stories both about general trends and specific instances of domestic violence to see what takeaways we find. Let’s continue that process now.

Brooklyn Woman Executes Her Former Girlfriend After Long, Volatile Relationship

In April of this year, the New York Post reports that a Brooklyn woman turned herself in to police, confessing that she had shot and killed her former girlfriend execution-style after a volatile 20-year relationship. According to prosecutors, police had responded to a total of 14 domestic violence calls over the past two decades, 10 of which had indicated the shooter as the “aggressor.” The shooter’s sister claimed that her sister was mentally disabled and had tried to distance herself from the victim but that the victim “kept coming back.” She said her sister had pulled the trigger because “enough was enough.”

domestic-violence-accuser-and-accused-300x200Being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence can be highly disruptive to your life—and of course, being the victim of domestic violence is nothing short of traumatic. But what happens when you are both a victim of domestic violence and the person accused of it—at the same time? What if the alleged victim and the defendant are one and the same person—and that person is you?

It doesn’t happen that often—but it does happen. When domestic violence occurs, we typically assume there is one perpetrator and one victim. One person gets hurt, the other one gets arrested and charged. In the majority of DV cases, this assumption holds true—but on occasion, someone who has been attacked in a domestic violence dispute may actually be arrested and possibly charged as a perpetrator. Let’s talk about the complexities of these types of cases, the circumstances in which they may occur, and what you can do about it if you find yourself in this undesirable situation.

How Can Domestic Violence Victims Also Be Charged?

domestic-violence-and-marijuana-200x300Since the recreational use of cannabis was legalized in California a few years ago, public attitudes in the state toward marijuana use have continued to soften. For many years, marijuana has been associated with pain relief, relaxation, and an overall mellow disposition. Proponents of legalizing the drug claim it is less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco and that regulating its use actually boosts the economy while reducing crime. Indeed, considering its effects on most people, it seems unlikely to think that marijuana use could lead to increased domestic violence.

And yet, that’s exactly what numerous studies now indicate. A growing body of research now suggests a distinct connection between regular marijuana use and domestic violence. Can the use of weed actually make you more prone to violence, particularly against those you love? Let’s explore this topic a bit further.

A Look at the Research

holday-domestic-violence-300x200While most of us like to think of the holiday season as the happiest and most joyous time of the year, for many of us, it can also be one of the most stressful. According to studies, nearly 40 percent of us report an increase in stress during the holidays. Unfortunately, stress can also be a trigger for domestic violence among vulnerable families. Between a hotly contested election, economic woes, and the ongoing pandemic, this year’s holiday season promises to be more stressful than most.

All of these factors may strike a note of concern for you, especially if you’ve previously been arrested on domestic violence charges or have general trouble with anger management. What can you do now to keep your stress manageable? What steps can you take proactively to keep any holiday tensions from escalating into a very bad situation?

Looking at the Numbers…

covid-domestic-abuse-300x200Quite often, domestic violence is framed either in the sterile context of criminology and statistics or in the raw context of our own emotions. The reality lies somewhere between these extremes. If we look past the crime itself, past the numbers, and past our own offense, we can see that domestic violence occurs in real families with actual people and complex emotions—people who often don’t even understand what triggers their behavior. For many households, the quarantines and lockdowns prompted by COVID-19 are making these triggers even more sensitive, prompting an increase in the rate of domestic violence across the globe.

We’ve already talked about some of the numbers and factors behind this increase in DV during the pandemic. Now, let’s talk about the human factor—the increased pressures caused by this situation which may serve as triggers, and how families can respond to reduce the risk and perhaps prevent outbreaks of domestic violence in the home.

Common Triggers of Domestic Violence During Lockdown

In 2006, a sexual abuse survivor named Tarana Burke launched a grassroots movement to help give other survivors a voice and a sense of community, as well as to raise awareness to prevent future incidents of sexual violence. To create a sense of solidarity, she aptly named her initiative the “Me Too” movement.

Eleven years later, the #MeToo movement was suddenly thrust into the international conversation when the New York Times published an article alleging a longtime pattern of sexual abuse by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. As the #MeToo hashtag went viral across social media, millions of victimized women found a fresh sense of empowerment, and millions of the rest of us were dismayed to discover just how many of our sisters, wives, and friends had quietly endured various forms of sexual harassment and abuse over the years.

As more allegations came to light and more high-profile public figures went down in disgrace (over 200 by the last count), it became clear that this movement would spearhead a cultural shift—not just regarding incidents of overt sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace and otherwise, but also redefining what was considered appropriate behavior and conversation, particularly in the workplace. While many celebrated the shift as ushering in a long-overdue era of female empowerment, others were left in a state of confusion as seemingly innocent flirtations and the occasional off-color joke, once assumed to be harmless, were now looked upon as offensive. Many began second-guessing their every interaction with the opposite sex and grappling to figure out what was acceptable in the “new normal.” Still others feared the movement might swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction, endangering the careers of innocent individuals on the power of unsubstantiated testimonies and creating the assumption of guilt until innocence was proven.

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